By Gram Slattery, Pesha Magid, Nafisa Eltahir and Timour Azhari
RIYADH/DAMASCUS (Reuters) – President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would order the lifting of sanctions on Syria at the behest of Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, a major U.S. policy shift ahead of an expected meeting with Syria’s Islamist President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Trump is set to say hello to Sharaa on Wednesday in Saudi Arabia, a White House official said, setting up an encounter between the president and the former al Qaeda commander who took power after Bashar al-Assad was toppled. Two Syrian presidential sources told Reuters they would meet on Wednesday morning.
“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, at the start of a tour of Gulf Arab states. “It’s their time to shine. We’re taking them all off,” Trump said, “Good luck Syria, show us something very special.”
Trump said he made the decision after discussions with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, whose governments have both strongly urged the lifting of sanctions.
Removing U.S. sanctions that cut Syria off from the global financial system will clear the way for greater engagement by humanitarian organizations working in Syria, easing foreign investment and trade as the country rebuilds.
The surprise move came despite deep Israeli suspicion of Sharaa’s administration, worries initially shared by some U.S. officials. Israeli officials have continued to describe Sharaa as a jihadist, though he severed ties with al Qaeda in 2016. Israel’s government did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Trump said he would remove all sanctions, saying they had served an important function, but it was time for Syria to move forward. He said steps were being taken to restore normal relations with Syria, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio would meet his Syrian counterpart this week.
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani, in a statement to Reuters, said it marked a turning point for the Syrian people in their efforts to rebuild.
“We … stand ready to foster a relationship with the United States that is rooted in mutual respect, trust and shared interests,” Shibani said.
He also said Trump could get a “historic peace deal and victory for U.S. interests in Syria,” without elaborating.
Joseph Aoun, president of neighbouring Lebanon, hailed Trump’s “bold move” as another step on Syria’s path towards recovery and stability.
Alex Zerden, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, said Trump’s announcement would unwind a “Gordian knot” of sanctions, export controls and terrorist designations that had made Syria one of the most economically restricted countries, along with Iran, North Korea and Cuba.
Under Assad, Syria remained in a state of war with neighbouring Israel, had close ties to Iran and Russia and turbulent relations with the West.
Since December, Israel’s military has occupied Syrian territory near the Golan Heights, which Israel has occupied since 1967, while also carrying out regular airstrikes in the country.
Syrian officials have meanwhile signaled their openness to a detente and even eventual peace with Israel.
The decision is a major boost for Sharaa, who has been struggling to bring the country under the control of the Damascus government. The challenges were laid bare in March when Assad loyalists attacked government forces, prompting revenge attacks in which Islamist gunmen killed hundreds of civilians from the Alawite minority, drawing strong U.S. condemnation.
Sharaa was for years the leader of al Qaeda’s official wing in the Syrian conflict. He first joined al Qaeda in Iraq, where he spent five years in a U.S. prison. The United States removed a $10 million bounty on Sharaa’s head in December.
Most sanctions laws passed by Congress, including a 2019 package of stiff sanctions on Syria, include a provision allowing a president to suspend them if he deems it to be in the U.S. national security interest.
Members of both U.S. political parties welcomed the announcement.
U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told reporters the U.S. had a chance to support Syria – and Lebanon. “It’s important for us to provide the opportunity to keep those countries moving in a way that continues to keep out Iran and Russia,” she said.
Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham said in a statement that he was “very inclined” to support sanctions relief under the right conditions.
“This newly formed government in Syria may be a good investment and could be the pathway to unifying Syria, making it a stable part of the region,” Graham said. “However, there is a lot that must be learned before making that determination.”
TERRORIST DESIGNATIONS
The United Nations, which has been pushing countries to lift sanctions on Syria, also welcomed the move.
“It was important for us to see relief on sanctions on Syria to help the reconstruction of Syria, to help the Syrian people recover from more than a decade of conflict, a decade of under investment,” said U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.
Formerly known as Nusra Front, the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham was al Qaeda’s official wing in Syria until breaking ties in 2016. HTS was officially dissolved in January.
The group has been on the U.N. Security Council al Qaeda and Islamic State sanctions list for more than a decade, subjected to a global assets freeze and arms embargo. There are no U.N. sanctions on Syria over the civil war.
(Reporting by Gram Slattery, Andrea Shalal and Doina Chiacu; Additional reporting by Timour Azhari in Damascus, Patricia Zengerle in Washington, Michelle Nichols in New York, and Ahmed Elimam in Dubai; Writing by Andrea Shalal and Tom Perry; Editing by Mark Potter, Alistair Bell and Daniel Wallis)
