US President Donald Trump says he’s ready to ease sanctions on Syria. He won’t be able to do it quickly. The American leader sat down with Syrian counterpart Ahmed Al-Sharaa in Riyadh on Wednesday — the first meeting between heads of the two countries in 25 years — after unexpectedly saying he would drop all sanctions against the war-ravaged country and even look to normalize relations.

The sanctions were really crippling,” President Trump said, before he traveled to Qatar, where he was given a lavish welcome.