Syrian president Ahmed al-Sharaa meets Trump for historic talks

US President Donald Trump (L) shaking hands with Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the White House in Washington DC. (Image: AFP)

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa met US President Donald Trump at the White House for historic talks on Monday, capping a dramatic turnaround for a former jihadist who once had a $10 million US bounty on his head.

In remarkable scenes just days after he was removed from Washington's terrorism list, Sharaa climbed out of his motorcade to greet crowds of supporters outside the US presidential mansion, AFP reported.

Sharaa, whose rebel forces ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad late last year, is the first Syrian leader to visit the White House since the country's 1946 independence.

The 43-year-old's group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), was formerly affiliated with Al-Qaeda but was itself removed from Washington's terrorism list in July.

Syria's presidency said on X that Sharaa and Trump discussed the bilateral relationship, "the ways to strengthen and develop it, as well as a number of regional and international issues of common interest."

Unusually for the normally camera-friendly Trump, the meeting with the Syrian leader took place behind closed doors without the media present.

But Syria's presidency published photos of Trump standing and shaking hands with a smiling Sharaa beside the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.

Other pictures showed the Syrian leader sitting opposite Trump with top US officials including Vice President JD Vance, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth and top US military officer Dan Caine.

There was no immediate reaction from the White House.

Trump said last week that Sharaa was doing a "very good job. It's a tough neighborhood. And he's a tough guy."

(With inputs from AFP)