Donald Trump met with Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, former Al-Qaeda commander. Trump: "How many wives do you have? With you guys, it's never known."

The American president Donald Trump had an unprecedented meeting with Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa at the White House, marking the first such meeting between the presidents of the two countries since Syria's independence in 1946. Trump asked al-Sharaa how many wives he has, to which he replied that he has one, and Trump joked that "you guys never know."

Al-Sharaa, a former Al-Qaeda commander, was considered a "designated international terrorist" until recently, and Washington has withdrawn the ten million dollar bounty on his head. The meeting took place in the context of the U.S. Treasury Department temporarily suspending sanctions imposed on the former regime of Bashar al-Assad. Al-Sharaa expressed a desire to rebuild and reunify Syria, and American officials stated that Syria would be able to resume operations of its embassy in Washington to strengthen cooperation in the fight against terrorism.