U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would order the lifting of sanctions on Syria at the behest of Saudi Arabia’s crown prince.
This move would be a huge boost for interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa as he seeks to stabilize a country shattered by war. Trump made the surprise announcement during a regional tour that began in Saudi Arabia.
The White House said Trump would meet with Sharaa during his Saudi visit. This meeting would take place between the president and a former al Qaeda commander who spent five years in a U.S. prison in Iraq. Two sources from the Syrian presidency confirmed that Sharaa would travel to Riyadh to meet Trump.
The United States imposed tough sanctions on Syria during the rule of Bashar al-Assad and kept them in place after he was toppled from power. Saudi Arabia has been a leading voice calling for the sanctions to be lifted. Trump’s decision marks a significant shift in US policy towards Syria.
Trump said he would remove all sanctions against Syria, stating they had served an important function but it was now time for Syria to move forward. “I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness,” Trump told an investment forum in Riyadh. “It’s their time to shine. We’re taking them all off,” Trump said, adding “Good luck Syria, show us something very special.”
Sharaa was the leader of al Qaeda’s official wing in the Syrian conflict before severing ties with the global jihadist network in 2016. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the group Sharaa led and which was formally dissolved in January, is designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the United Nations. This complex past may have implications for the US-Syria relationship.
