US President Donald Trump has vowed to do everything he can to make Syria successful after landmark talks with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former al-Qaeda commander who until recently was sanctioned by Washington as a foreign terrorist.

Sharaa's visit capped a stunning year for the rebel-turned-ruler who toppled longtime autocratic leader Bashar al-Assad and has since traveled the world trying to depict himself as a moderate leader who wants to unify his war-ravaged nation and end its decades of international isolation.

One of Sharaa's chief aims in Washington was to push for full removal of the toughest US sanctions. While he met with Trump behind closed doors, the US Treasury Department announced a 180-day extension of its suspension of enforcement of the so-called Caesar sanct

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