P resident Donald Trump announced on Tuesday, May 13, that he plans to end the U.S. sanctions imposed on Syria, which have been in place for over 45 years. Announcing the news on the first day of his Middle East tour, during the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum, Trump said he would be lifting sanctions “in order to give them [Syria] greatness.”

By Gram Slattery, Pesha Magid, Nafisa Eltahir and Timour Azhari RIYADH/DAMASCUS (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would order the lifting of sanctions on Syria at the behest of Saudi Arabia's crown prince,

President Trump met with Syrian interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa and urged him to expel 'Palestinian terrorists' from the country and sign on to the historic Abraham Accords.

The meeting, on the sidelines of Trump sitting with the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council, marks a major turn of events for a Syria still adjusting to life after the over 50-year, iron-gripped rule of the Assad family.