US President Donald Trump on Wednesday had tea with a former jihadist who until recently had a $10 million US bounty on his head.

U.S. President Donald Trump met with Syria's president in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday and urged him to normalise ties with longtime foe Israel, after a surprise U.S. announcement that it would lift all sanctions on the Islamist-led government.

Trump urged Sharaa to normalize relations with Israel and help defeat Islamic State, the White House said.

The day began with pomp in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, and ended in Qatar after the U.S. leader was greeted with camels and sped to what he said was a “perfecto” marble palace.

By Gram Slattery, Pesha Magid, Nafisa Eltahir and Timour Azhari RIYADH/DAMASCUS (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would order the lifting of sanctions on Syria at the behest of Saudi Arabia's crown prince,

President Trump met with Syrian interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa and urged him to expel 'Palestinian terrorists' from the country and sign on to the historic Abraham Accords.