P resident Donald Trump announced on Tuesday, May 13, that he plans to end the U.S. sanctions imposed on Syria, which have been in place for over 45 years. Announcing the news on the first day of his Middle East tour, during the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum, Trump said he would be lifting sanctions “in order to give them [Syria] greatness.”

When President Donald Trump announced in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday that he would lift all sanctions on Syria, the decision, which will boost a country devastated by 13 years of war, took many in the region by surprise.

"Oh, what I do for the crown prince," Trump said, recounting how he arrived at the decision following discussions with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

President Trump met with Syria's interim President on Wednesday, a day after lifting sanctions and marking a major policy shift towards peace and rebuilding relations.

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.

But there’s one notable exception that’s emerged in the past 24 hours: Trump’s new Syria policy.

Syrians have endured "brutal and crippling" sanctions over the past 14 years, and it's time to end them, President Donald Trump announced while in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

When the leader of Syria shook hands with U.S. President Donald Trump, it was a striking moment for a man who was an al-Qaida fighter in Iraq and was detained by the American military