President Donald Trump is hosting Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa at the White House, welcoming the once-pariah state into a US-led global coalition to fight the Islamic State group.

Al-Sharaa arrived at the White House a little after 11:30 am local time on Monday and began his Oval Office meeting shortly after.

The meeting is closed to the press, and the Syrian president entered the building through West Executive Avenue, adjacent to the White House, rather than on the West Wing driveway used for other foreign leaders' arrivals.

It's the first visit to the White House by a Syrian head of state since the Middle Eastern country gained independence from France in 1946.

It comes after the US lifted sanctions imposed on Syria during the decades the country was ruled by the Assad family.

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