U.S. President Donald Trump met with Syria's president in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday and urged him to normalize ties with longtime foe Israel after a surprise U.S. announcement that it would lift all sanctions on the Islamist-led government. Trump then flew to Qatar, where he oversaw the signing of a…

President Trump met Wednesday with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa and urged him to sign a peace deal with Israel, the White House said in a statement. Why it matters: The extraordinary meeting in Riyadh between Trump and al-Sharaa — who remains on the U.S. terrorist list due to his past ties with al-Qaeda — marks the first meeting between a U.S. and Syrian president in 25 years. Driving the news: On Tuesday in a speech at an economic conference in Riyadh, Trump shocked the world when he announced he'd lift U.S. sanctions imposed on the Assad regime — which al-Sharaa and his fighters toppled last December — in order to "give a chance" to the new Syrian government. • Trump's announcement was a dramatic shift in U.S. policy towards the new Syrian government. • The sanctions crippled the Syrian economy and brought the country to the verge of bankruptcy, and would have made a serious rebuilding effort very difficult. • The Biden administration eased some restrictions on Syria to ease the delivery of humanitarian…