Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Thursday in Antalya, Turkey with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, the State Department said. It's the first such meeting in 15 years. Why it matters: It's another step in normalizing relations between the countries after President Trump met President Ahmed al-Sharaa and made the shocking pronouncement that the U.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani in Turkey on Thursday, the State Department said in a statement. "(Rubio) welcomed the Syrian government’s calls for peace with Israel,

The meeting came days after President Trump announced he would end sanctions against Syria and met with the country’s president, a former jihadist.