Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
CNN
—
President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he plans to lift sanctions on Syria following last year’s fall of the Assad regime, saying the move will “give them a chance at greatness.”
The removal of the sanctions is a significant win for the Syrian government led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, who seized power after the stunning defeat of the Assad regime in December. It is likely to be seen as a blow by the Israeli government, which escalated military and territorial advancements in Syria in the wake of the Assad collapse.
Trump said in remarks to a Saudi investment forum in Riyadh that he made the decision after discussing with it Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as well as with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“Syria, they’ve had their share of travesty, war, killing in many years. That’s why my administration has already taken the first steps toward restoring normal relations between the United States and Syria for the first time in more than a decade,” he said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to meet with Syria’s foreign minister in Turkey “later this week,” Trump said.
After decades of brutal rule, the Assad regime fell during the Biden administration in December, and Syria’s new leaders have hoped Trump would consider lifting the punishing sanctions on the country.
“The sanctions were brutal and crippling and served as an important — really an important function — nevertheless, at the time. But now it’s their time to shine,” Trump said. “So, I say, ‘Good luck, Syria.’ Show us something very special.”
Trump expressed hope that Syria’s new government “will hopefully succeed in stabilizing the country in keeping peace.”
New Syrian President al-Sharaa previously founded a militant group known as Jabhat al-Nusra, or “the Victory Front” in English, which pledged allegiance to al Qaeda. But in 2016, he broke away from the terror group, according to the US Center for Naval Analyses.
Trump is expected to informally greet al-Sharaa in Riyadh on Wednesday, a White House official said earlier Tuesday – the highest-level engagement to date between the new Syrian government and the Trump administration. The US has not formally reestablished diplomatic ties or recognized the al-Sharaa government, but sources say there has been lower-level engagement.
Syria’s foreign minister, Asaad Al-Shaibani, welcomed the news of the US sanctions relief.
“We see the lifting of sanctions as a new beginning on the path to reconstruction,” he posted to X. “Thanks to the stances of our Arab brothers — foremost among them Saudi Arabia — we are opening a new chapter toward a future worthy of the Syrian people and their history.”
The United Kingdom and European Union lifted some, but not all, of their sanctions on Syria earlier this year.
Natasha Hall, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Middle East Program, told CNN that in addition to the announcement marking a win for al-Sharaa, it is also a win for the Saudi crown prince.
“[Trump] is saying this publicly to maybe reassure others that they have the tacit approval to give Syria a better opportunity, a shot, and so the optics of that are quite a big deal,” Hall said. “Now if that is also met with some kind of public meeting between al-Sharaa and Trump, or even a secret meeting, this means that the United States is clearly taking steps in a direction to give Syria a chance to rebuild.”
