Trump's meeting with Syria's Interim President discusses Israel context

The White House says US President Donald Trump met Syrian interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh on Wednesday. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also attended the meeting. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan joined by phone.

Syria's interim government has been rebuilding the nation after the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in December. The autocratic reign by two generations of the Assad family spanned more than half a century.

The White House said Trump told Sharaa that he has a tremendous opportunity to do something historic in his country. Trump urged him to tell all foreign terrorists to leave Syria, and to help the United States prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State group. Trump also called on Sharaa to normalize relations with Israel.

The foreign ministry of Syria's interim government said Sharaa expressed thanks for international support and stressed that his country is moving toward the future.

Trump announced on Tuesday that he plans to remove sanctions imposed against the Assad regime. Syria has expressed willingness to improve its relations with the United States.