Ahmed Al-Sharaa has become the first Syrian leader ever welcomed to the White House, where he's held landmark talks with US President Donald Trump on rebuilding ties with the US, and cooperating in the fight against the Islamic State group.

The former rebel-turned-ruler, who was once branded an international terrorist by the US government, now faces a far greater test of rebuilding his war-ravaged nation.

• Guest: Caroline Rose, director of the Crime-Conflict Nexus and Military Withdrawals portfolios at the New Lines Institute, a non-partisan think-tank in Washington. 
• Producer: Anne Barker