RIYADH: US President Donald Trump asked Syria's new leader on Wednesday (May 14) to normalise relations with Israel after he offered a major boost to the war-ravaged country by announcing the lifting of sanctions.

Trump, on a state visit to Riyadh, became the first US president in 25 years to meet a Syrian leader - Ahmed al-Sharaa, an erstwhile extremist guerrilla and onetime militant who had been on a US wanted list and led the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in December.

The interim Syrian president and Trump, wearing matching suits, shook hands as they met jointly with Saudi Arabia's de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and, by video link, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the key supporter of the new government in Damascus.