Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - President Donald Trump will meet with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa on Wednesday to face the rebellion leader who was imprisoned by U.S. troops for several years after being arrested in Iraq.

The White House said Trump had agreed to "say hello" to al-Sharaa before the U.S. leader ended his stay in Saudi Arabia and then headed to Qatar, where Trump would be under state visit. His trip to the Middle East also brought him to the United Arab Emirates.

Al-Sharaa was appointed Syrian president in January, a month after a stunning offensive by the rebel group led by Al-Sharaa's Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), attacked Damascus and ended the 54-year rule of the Assad family.

Trump said he agreed to meet with al-Sharaa with encouragement from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The president also pledged to lift years of sanctions on Syria.

"There is a new administration that is expected to successfully stabilize the country and maintain peace," Trump said in a broad foreign policy lecture on Tuesday, announcing that he would lift sanctions imposed in Syria since 2011. That's what we hope to see in Syria. ”

Al-Sharaa, formerly known as Nom de Guerre Abu Mohammed Al-Golani, joined the Al Qaeda rebels in Iraq after the U.S.-led invasion and still faces a warrant for arresting him for allegations of terrorism in Iraq. The United States once provided US$10 million in information to the United States due to his link to al-Qaeda.

After the conflict began in 2011, al-Sharaa returned to his native Syria and led the Al Qaeda branch, once known as Nusra Front. Later, he changed the name of his group to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and ruled in contact with Al Qaeda.

The sanctions date back to the reign of Bashar Assad, who was ousted in December with an intention to cause significant pain to his economy.

Both Biden and the Trump administration tried to take al-sharaa measures after Assad fell, which both abandoned their affiliation with Al-Qaida.

After a brief engagement with Al-Sharaa, Trump will attend a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Commission on Wednesday, which consists of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, before heading for Qatar, the second stop on his mid-trip trip.

Qatar, like other Arab Gulf, is an authoritarian country with political parties banned and strictly controlled. It is supervised by the Emir (Emir) Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani. Sheikh Tamim, 44, resigned in June 2013 when his father resigned.

Qatar's oil exports began after World War II, although it was not until 1997 that Qatar began shipping liquefied natural gas to the world.

This brought incredible wealth and new influence to this small country that entered the Persian Gulf like a thumb. Qatar founded Al Al Jazeera, a satellite news network that brought an Arab perspective to the mass media, which helped drive the 2011 Arab spring protests. The network is also known for the ongoing statements by Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

Qatar also plays a central role in the global paid scandal.

In Israel, authorities are investigating allegations that Qatar hired close advisers to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to launch a public relations campaign to improve the image of the Gulf nation among Israelis.

Two EU lawmakers find themselves accused of making money from Doha in a scandal called "Qatargate". U.S. attorneys accused Qatar of bribing FIFA executive committee members in 2022 to secure the country's game in 2022.

In 2024, defense contractor RTX Corporation, formerly known as Raytheon, agreed to pay more than $950 million in fees to resolve allegations it deceived the U.S. government and paid a bribe to secure business with Qatar companies. Doha always denies misconduct and sponsors the annual anti-corruption award.

Qatar follows a superconservative form of Sunni Islam called Wahhabiism and was born in Saudi Arabia. However, Qatar fought differently in the Arab Spring by supporting Islamists, including the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and former Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi and those who opposed Assad.

Its support for Islamists has partially led to Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates boycotting the country over the years. The boycott was only prepared to enter the White House in 2021 by then-President Joe Biden.

Qatar has also served as a key mediator, especially in the militant group Hamas, where the international community pursues a ceasefire in the Israeli-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. Qatar also served as the host of negotiations between the United States and the Taliban, which led to the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

Katar is home to the Al-udeid Air Base, a sprawling facility responsible for the front headquarters of the U.S. Military Central Command.

The oil-rich country is also the center of controversy for giving Trump the gift of a luxurious Boeing 747-8, which the United States could be used as Air Force One, while a new version of the aircraft is being built through Boeing.

The Katari government said no final decision has been made. But Trump defended the idea as a wise move by the United States to the United States, even if critics believe it would constitute a surprisingly valuable gift from the president to accept foreign governments.

Trump said he would refurbish the plane and would later donate it to his white post-House Presidential Library. He said he wouldn't use the plane once he left the office.

The president said in a social media post earlier Wednesday that the plane “is a gift from a country in Qatar that we have successfully defended for many years.”

"Why our military, so our taxpayers should be forced to pay hundreds of millions of dollars when they can get rewards for free from a country that wants to reward us for work," Trump added. "Instead, this huge saving will be spent making America great again! Only one fool will not accept this gift on behalf of our country."