US President Donald Trump hailed his Syrian counterpart Ahmed al-Sharaa after unprecedented talks at the White House Monday, saying Sharaa's "rough" past as a jihadist would help him rebuild the war-torn country.

Sharaa, whose rebel forces ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad late last year, was the first Syrian leader to visit the White House since the Middle Eastern country's independence in 1946.

But the 43-year-old's landmark visit to the Oval Office came just days after Washington removed him from its terrorism list. Sharaa's group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), was formerly affiliated with Al-Qaeda.

Trump said he wanted Syria to become "very successful" after more than a decade of civil war and added that he believed Sharaa "can do it, I really do."

"He's a very strong leader. He

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