President Donald Trump looks on as he leaves the Royal Palace after a signing ceremony with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (AP)
President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the United States would lift sanctions on Syria, in what he described as the first step toward normalising relations with the country’s new leadership.
Speaking at a US-Saudi investment forum in Riyadh, Trump said the decision was taken after discussions with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“There is a new government that will hopefully succeed,” Trump said, according to AP. “I say good luck, Syria. Show us something special.”
The announcement marks a significant policy change. Sanctions had been imposed over the past decade during the Syrian civil war, when former president Bashar al-Assad was accused of widespread human rights abuses and the use of chemical weapons.
Assad fled the country in December, and Ahmad al-Sharaa, a former leader of the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, is now the country’s interim president. The US has designated HTS as a foreign terrorist organisation.
Sharaa, once known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, was previously active in al-Qaeda in Iraq and was later wanted by the US government. Despite this, Trump now appears ready to engage with his leadership.
Ahead of Wednesday’s planned meeting between Trump and al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia, the White House said Trump had “agreed to say hello” to the Syrian president.
“The sanctions were brutal and crippling,” Trump said, but he added they had “served an important function.” He said it was now Syria’s “time to shine.”
Trump also said Secretary of State Marco Rubio would meet Syria’s new foreign minister in Turkey later this week.
In his remarks, Trump also offered Iran an opportunity to reduce tensions, saying it could be a “safe, great country” if it gave up its nuclear ambitions.
