RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - President Trump met with Syria's interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa on Wednesday and talked with him on a field visiting Saudi Arabia for about half an hour.

The meeting was added to Trump's schedule as he announced that he would lift sanctions on Syria, a move called "critical" by the Syrian foreign minister to rebuild a country that had been destroyed for more than a decade of civil war and international isolation.

Trump said on social media that Trump encouraged Salad to normalize relations with Israel by signing the Abraham Agreement and urged him to stop terrorism.

The White House said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was in the conference room and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan joined by phone. The two leaders asked Trump to meet with salad. The White House released images of the meeting but did not allow journalists traveling with Trump to enter the room.

Over the past 20 years, the U.S. has imposed multiple sanctions on Syria, targeting the Bashar al-Assad regime, which took over the country after his father Hafez al-Assad’s death. Hafiz has ruled Syria with an iron fist for decades.

But sanctions remained the same after Assad fled the country in December, after a surprise thunder movement by Sharaa and his Rebel Fighters coalition. Sharaa himself was a list of designated terrorists in the United States at the time because of his past connections to al-Qaeda and Islamic states, but the designation was quickly removed as Sharaa vowed to build an inclusive society to protect Syria’s multi-ethnic and religious minorities.

However, as many countries remain vigilant about his past, sanctions remain. A series of deadly clashes between factions loyal to the Sala government and minority groups have raised concerns that he may try to maintain his rule by force.

But Sharaa showed herself as a competent diplomat and toured the Arab world and other countries in an attempt to alleviate these fears and support the end of sanctions and his efforts to rebuild the country. This month, he flew to Paris to meet with President Emmanuel Macron, who also called for ease of sanctions.

Sharaa and those around him have even hinted at friendly ties with Israel, which has been carrying out a series of airstrikes inside Syria since the fall of the Assad regime, at first saying it wanted to avoid weapons falling into the hands of extremes, and then to protect the Druze minority who live on both side of the Israel-Syria border, and who have fought clashes with Sunni factions allied with the new government. Israeli forces also took over posts on the borders of the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights once held by Syrian forces, which Israel said was protecting its territory.

Trump announced on Monday that he planned to lift sanctions that had suffered hugely needed international investments at the Saudi investment forum, and received long applause at the Saudi investment forum where he spoke, an honor led by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman himself.

Sanctions have threatened to force Syria to seek Russian financial support, which has formed an alliance with the former regime and bombed opposition-controlled cities. Moscow still has two military bases in Syria.

Gulf states are eager to invest in Syria, which has important mineral and oil reserves but has been blocked by U.S. restrictions.