Syrian President Sharaa meets Saudi Crown Prince in Riyadh on first foreign trip

Cairo: Syria's transitional President Ahmed al-Sharaa met Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh on Sunday in his first foreign trip as Syrian leader, Saudi state news agency SPA reported.

Live TV footage showed Sharaa shaking hands with the crown prince in the Saudi capital before sitting down for talks.

The Saudi crown prince is the second Gulf leader to meet Sharaa since the latter was declared president for a transitional phase last week.

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani met Sharaa in Damascus on Thursday, becoming the first head of state to visit the Syrian capital since Bashar al-Assad was ousted in December.

Sharaa, an Islamist who was once an affiliate of al Qaeda, has been trying to gain support from Arab and Western leaders since Assad was toppled.

Sharaa was accompanied on his visit by Syria's foreign minister, Asaad Hassan al-Shibani.