US President Donald Trump on Wednesday had tea with a former jihadist who until recently had a $10 million US bounty on his head.

President Donald Trump has met with Syria’s interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa. It's the first such encounter between the two nations’ leaders in 25 years.

"He's got the potential - he's a real leader," Trump said on Air Force One after meeting Syrian Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Click here to subscribe.When President Donald Trump met with Syria’s interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, the encounter went beyond the “hello” the White House had told reporters to expect.

President Donald Trump met with interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia, the first encounter between the two nations’ leaders in 25 years and one that could mark a turning point for the region as Syria struggles to emerge from decades of international isolation.

Despite his Islamist background, al-Sharaa has shown more pragmatic than ideological since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan met online with U.S. President Donald Trump, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, state-owned Anadolu news agency reported on Wednesday.

When the leader of Syria shook hands with U.S. President Donald Trump, it was a striking moment for a man who was an al-Qaida fighter in Iraq and was detained by the American military.