United States President Donald Trump says Washington is considering the normalization of ties with Damascus after he met Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, the first such encounter between the two nations’ leaders in 25 years.

Trump made the announcement on Wednesday at a meeting with Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) leaders in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh, during which he also said the U.S. will drop “all sanctions” against Syria, Al Jazeera reported.

“With the support of the great leaders in this room, we are currently exploring normalizing relations with Syria’s new government,” Trump said, confirming his brief meeting with al-Sharaa.

The “cessation of sanctions” will give Syria “a fresh start”, Trump said.

“We will be dropping all sanctions.”

The U.S. president said he conferred with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday about the lifting of sanctions.

He said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will be meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani in Turkiye to further discuss U.S.-Syria relations.