The president's decision on sanctions does not mean he's chosen to side with self-described "restraint" advocates over foreign policy hawks in Washington.

U.S. President Donald Trump will meet Syria's president in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, following a surprise announcement that the United States would lift all sanctions on the Islamist-led government despite lingering concerns about its leaders' former ties to Al Qaeda.

WASHINGTON − President Donald Trump, whose family has major business interests in the Gulf countries he is visiting this week, said there was no talk of building a Trump Tower in Syria or golf during his meetings in Saudi Arabia that ended on Wednesday.

President Donald Trump met with Syria's interim leader Ahmad al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, marking the first high-level meeting between U.S. and Syrian heads of state in a quarter-century. The closed-door session came on the sidelines of Trump's summit with Gulf leaders and could signal a dramatic shift in American policy toward Syria.