By NIKKI SCHWAB, CHIEF CAMPAIGN CORRESPONDENT FOR DAILYMAIL.COM IN RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman rolled out the lavender carpet for President Donald Trump as he touched down in Air Force One Tuesday morning in Riyadh, the Saudi capital. 

For the last 30 minutes of the flight, five Saudi fighter jets accompanied Trump’s plane as it readied to land after a 14-hour journey to the Middle East. 

Trump will spend Tuesday and Wednesday morning in Saudi Arabia before jetting off to Doha, Qatar and then Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. 

The president greeted ‘MBS’ warmly as a cannon salute blasted in the background. 

The two walked together, as a Saudi royal guard lined the pathway. 

Trump was followed by the other top U.S. officials in his delegation: Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. 

The Saudi delegation and the American delegation then filed into an ornate room for a coffee ceremony, where the president, crown prince and all the members were served tiny cups of coffee under large portraits of the Saudi royal family.

From there Trump will head to the Royal Court for more pomp to kick off his Tuesday visit. 

President Donald Trump (left) and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (right) walk down the lavender carpet that was set out for the U.S. president's arrival in Riyadh on Tuesday

President Donald Trump (left) and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (right) walk down the lavender carpet that was set out for the U.S. president’s arrival in Riyadh on Tuesday 

President Donald Trump walks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during an arrival ceremony at the Royal Terminal of King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh

President Donald Trump walks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during an arrival ceremony at the Royal Terminal of King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh

An F-15 fighter jet can be seen out the window of Air Force One before it touched down in Riyadh

An F-15 fighter jet can be seen out the window of Air Force One before it touched down in Riyadh

Air Force One can be seen in the distance through Saudi and U.S. flags

Air Force One can be seen in the distance through Saudi and U.S. flags

President Donald Trump (left) and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (right) participate in a coffee ceremony after Trump's arrival Tuesday in Riyadh

President Donald Trump (left) and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (right) participate in a coffee ceremony after Trump’s arrival Tuesday in Riyadh 

In all three countries Trump will aim, at a minimum, to announce economic deals – with hopes that progress can be made on some complicated geopolitical issues as well. 

Trump will spend Tuesday in various engagements with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman or ‘MBS.’

The long-term goal is to have Saudi Arabia join the Abraham Accords – one of the biggest foreign policy achievements of Trump’s first administration. 

The Abraham Accords normalized relations between Israel and the UAE, and Israel and Bahrain. 

Hamas’ terror attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 – and the ongoing war in Gaza – threw a wrench in the Biden administration’s, and now the Trump administration’s, push to have Saudi join the accords. 

MBS has pushed that the Saudis would need there to be a pathway to Gaza becoming a Palestinian state for them to join the pact now. 

But first, the war in Gaza would need to end.  

Some progress was made on Monday when American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander was released by Hamas in a deal etched out between the Palestinian terror group and the U.S.  

Workers roll out a purple carpet ahead of President Donald Trump's arrival in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Tuesday

Workers roll out a purple carpet ahead of President Donald Trump’s arrival in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Tuesday 

President Donald Trump greets Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the base of Air Force One's stairs at the arrival ceremony at the Royal Terminal of King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia,

President Donald Trump greets Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the base of Air Force One’s stairs at the arrival ceremony at the Royal Terminal of King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia,

An F-15 fighter jet, which sported a Saudi flag, escorted Air Force One into Riyadh on Tuesday for President Donald Trump's visit

An F-15 fighter jet, which sported a Saudi flag, escorted Air Force One into Riyadh on Tuesday for President Donald Trump’s visit 

People watch a live coverage at the Ministry of Media as Air Force One lands in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday morning

People watch a live coverage at the Ministry of Media as Air Force One lands in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday morning 

Fox reported that Alexander may visit with Trump on a later leg of the Middle East trip. 

He was taken to a hospital in Tel Aviv after spending 584 days in captivity.  

Saudi Arabia has also played host for the recent Russia-U.S. talks to negotiate an ending to the war in Ukraine. 

While movement has been made on that, the White House said last week that a Trump meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin wouldn’t be happening on the Middle East trip. 

Several Arab newspapers have reported that Trump will meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun while on the ground with Saudi. 

Reuters reported Sunday that Sharaa – who remains a designated terrorist over his al-Qaeda past – planned to woo the American president by proposing a Trump Tower in the Syrian capital of Damascus. 

Sharaa also planned to pitch a detente with Israel and U.S. access to Syria’s oil and gas, if Trump agrees to remove sanctions on the country after the Assad regime was toppled in December.

The White House has yet to confirm these meetings.

Trump will jet to Doha on Wednesday, for a quick 24 hours spent in Qatar, a country that has helped facilitate the Hamas-Israel ceasefires and was a major staging area during the U.S.’s pullout of Afghanistan during the Biden administration. 

On Sunday, ABC News reported that the Qatari royal family would gift President Donald Trump a Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet that the president can temporarily use as Air Force One, while the new Air Force Ones continue to be delayed

On Sunday, ABC News reported that the Qatari royal family would gift President Donald Trump a Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet that the president can temporarily use as Air Force One, while the new Air Force Ones continue to be delayed 

The Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet would be gifted to the Pentagon and then later given to Trump's presidential library foundation so he could use the aircraft after leaving office. One source told CNN it's a 'security nightmare' for the Secret Service

The Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet would be gifted to the Pentagon and then later given to Trump’s presidential library foundation so he could use the aircraft after leaving office. One source told CNN it’s a ‘security nightmare’ for the Secret Service  

On Sunday, ABC News reported that during this portion of the trip, Trump would accept a luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet from the royal family of Qatar to use as a new Air Force One – as the two Air Force One replacements have been mired in delays and cost overruns. 

Trump toured the opulent aircraft when it was parked in West Palm Beach in February. 

The plane – which would likely be painted in Trump’s desired color scheme – would be transferred to the Pentagon, to ready it to be used by the president, and then later transferred to Trump’s presidential library foundation. 

That means Trump could continue to fly the ‘palace in the sky’ after leaving office. 

Ethics experts have raised the alarm about the transaction.  

Trump confirmed the deal in a Truth Social post Sunday night. 

‘So the fact that the Defense Department is getting a GIFT, FREE OF CHARGE, of a 747 aircraft to replace the 40 year old Air Force One, temporarily, in a very public and transparent transaction, so bothers the Crooked Democrats that they insist we pay, TOP DOLLAR, for the plane,’ the president wrote. ‘Anybody can do that! The Dems are World Class Losers!!!’

For the Secret Service, however, the president using a plane gifted to him by a foreign government is considered a ‘security nightmare,’ a law enforcement source told CNN. 

The president’s final stop will be Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, where the Trump Organization already has one real estate project, with two more in the making. 

The White House has yet to release a schedule for the back-half of the trip, but Trump will likely play up UAE’s participation in the Abraham Accords. 

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