President Trump met Wednesday in Saudi Arabia with Syria's interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, highlighting the stunning reversal in fortunes for a former Islamist militant with ties to al Qaeda who spent years with a U.

Sharaa, earlier known as Abu Mohammed al Joulani, had been imprisoned at Abu Ghraib as a member of the Iraqi ISIS faction. Trump describes

For Turkey, peace with the PKK now would further reduce a weakened Iran’s ability to project power westward. Some groups suspected of being affiliated with the PKK, such as the Sinjar Resistance Units in northern Iraq, have been indirectly supported by Iran.

In December, a consortium of rebel factions led by the group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham unexpectedly toppled the dictator Bashar al-Assad, whose family had ruled Syria for five decades. The new regime in Damascus inherited a country ruined by a 13-year civil war.

“When we briefly summarize the problems Syria is currently facing, there is the issue of Israeli expansionism. This has truly reached a point where it threatens Syria’s stability, security, and future,” said Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, flanked by his Jordanian and Syrian counterparts, Ayman Safadi and Asaad al-Shibani.

As an al-Qaida fighter in Iraq, he was detained by the American military. As the leader of a U.S.-designated terror group fighting in Syria's civil war, he had a $10 million bounty on his head. As the leader of a fast-changing Syria,

The foreign ministers of Turkey, the United States and Syria will meet in southern Turkey on Thursday to discuss details of U.S. President Donald Trump's pledge to lift sanctions on Syria, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Wednesday.

A landmark meeting in Antalya follows Trump’s surprise decision to lift Syria sanctions, handing Ankara a diplomatic victory.