President Donald Trump met privately with Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the White House on Monday. Al-Sharaa’s journey to Washington came on the heels of a decision by United States officials to remove al-Sharaa from its list of global terrorists three days ago.

It was an historic occasion for al-Sharaa, the former leader of an Al Qaeda affiliate who was once branded a terrorist and had a $10 million bounty placed on his head by the U.S. Monday was the second meeting between Trump and al-Sharaa this year. The pair first greeted one another in Saudi Arabia this May, where Trump described al-Sharaa as a “fighter.” That meeting marked the first official encounter between the U.S. and Syria since 2000. A month later, Trump announced the U.S. would drop sanctions imposed on the government of previous dictator Bashar al-Assad. 

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In Washington, Al-Sharaa quietly entered the Oval Office through the West Executive Avenue rather than on the West Wing driveway, where other foreign leaders generally arrive. The 43-year-old leader of Syria, who was once imprisoned by U.S. soldiers in Iraq and was only dropped from the United Nations sanction list this month, waved to gathered crowds as he departed the White House. 

Speaking ahead of Al-Sharaa’s visit, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt celebrated Trump’s willingness to meet with world leaders. “This is part of the president's efforts in diplomacy to meet with anyone around the world in the pursuit of peace,” Leavitt said in anticipation of Al-Sharaa’s arrival. 

Apart from attempting to smooth over Syria’s rocky relationship with the U.S., the Trump administration is hopeful that al-Sharaa can lead the war-torn country into an era of stability despite constant threats from Islamic terrorist groups in the region.