US President Donald Trump says he’s ready to ease sanctions on Syria. He won’t be able to do it quickly. The American leader sat down with Syrian counterpart Ahmed Al-Sharaa in Riyadh on Wednesday — the first meeting between heads of the two countries in 25 years — after unexpectedly saying he would drop all sanctions against the war-ravaged country and even look to normalize relations.

For the first time in 25 years, the leaders of Syria and the U.S. met.

The U.S. sanctions have weighed heavily on the Syrian economy, threatening al-Sharaa’s ability to rebuild the country since the rebel leader ousted the Bashar Assad regime five months ago.