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Saudi, Turkish leaders encouraged Trump to drop Syria

sanctions

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Next stops Qatar and UAE

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Qatar Airways expected to buy Boeing ( BA ) planes

By Gram Slattery, Pesha Magid and Andrew Mills

RIYADH, May 14 (Reuters) -

U.S. President Donald Trump was set to meet Syria's

president in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday following a surprise

announcement that the United States would lift all sanctions on

the Islamist-led government despite lingering concerns about

its leaders' former ties to Al Qaeda.

Despite concerns within sectors of his administration, Trump

said on Tuesday during a speech in Riyadh he would lift

sanctions on Syria. The U.S. president has agreed to say hello

to interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who will be in

Riyadh for meetings with the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Trump's first day of a four-day swing through the Gulf

region was marked by lavish ceremony and business deals,

including a $600 billion commitment from Saudi Arabia to invest

in the U.S. and $142 billion in U.S. arms sales to the kingdom.

Later on Wednesday, Trump will fly to Qatari capital Doha,

where he will participate in a state visit with Emir Sheikh

Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and other officials. Qatar, a key U.S.

ally, is expected to announce hundreds of billions of dollars in

investments in the U.S.

U.S. ally Israel has opposed sanctions relief for Syria, but

Trump on Tuesday said that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin

Salman and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, who are both close

to the U.S. president, encouraged him to make the move.

His interactions with Sharaa, a former Al Qaeda commander

who led rebel forces that toppled former Syrian President Bashar

al-Assad in December, will be closely watched as observers gauge

how serious Washington is about resetting its relationship with

Damascus.

Sharaa renounced ties to al Qaeda in 2016.

Trump's visit to Doha was to follow the White House's

announcement this week that it plans to accept a Boeing 747-8

plane, which would be outfitted to serve as Air Force One, as a

gift from the Qataris.

The luxury plane, which would be one of the most valuable

gifts ever received by the U.S. government, would eventually be

donated to Trump's presidential library. It has sparked outrage

from Democrats and bipartisan security concerns. Some officials

have said it could create a perception of corruption, even

absent a quid pro quo.

While the precise details of the investments Qatar plans to

announce on Wednesday were unclear, Qatar Airways was expected

to announce a deal to buy around 100 widebody jets from Boeing ( BA ),

according to a source familiar with the matter.

Following his visit to Qatar, Trump will fly to Abu Dhabi to

meet with the UAE's leaders on Thursday. He is then slated to

fly back to Washington on Friday, but he has said he could fly

to Turkey instead for a potential meeting between Russian

President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr

Zelenskiy.