German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier met with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the country's de facto ruler, in Riyadh on Monday as he embarked on a three-day visit to the Middle East.

Sharaa, met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh on Sunday in his first foreign trip as Syrian leader, in a sign of the major shifts under way in regional alliances.

Julani was born in Saudi Arabia, later lived in Damascus, and joined al-Qaeda before becoming the head of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in Syria.