On Monday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that lifted certain sanctions against Syria, following a recent meeting with Ahmed al-Sharraa, the interim president of Syria, in Saudi Arabia.
While the sanctions against Syria have been reduced, restrictions on former dictator Bashar al-Assad, his associates, human rights violators, drug traffickers, and those involved in chemical weapons activities, as well as ISIS affiliates and Iranian agents, will still remain in place, according to a fact sheet from the White House.
According to the White House fact sheet, this decision is aimed at facilitating Syria’s “path to stability and peace.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has the responsibility of assessing a potential “suspension of sanctions” if specific criteria are satisfied, per the Caesar Act, which targets the Assad regime for its human rights abuses, according to the documents reviewed.
Rubio will also evaluate the classification of Al-Sharra’s rebel group, Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), as a foreign terrorist organization, along with the designation of both the group and Al-Sharaa himself as specially designated global terrorists.
As noted by John Hayward from Breitbart, Al-Sharaa had previously urged the prior administration to lift sanctions, hoping to rally various factions, including Al Qaeda and EU-affiliated groups, to topple Assad and facilitate the lifting of those sanctions.
The decree also instructs Rubio to contemplate labeling Syria as a sponsor of terrorism.
During Trump’s notable trip to the Middle East last month, he and Al-Sharaa met at the invitation of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman in Saudi Arabia. Their private discussion lasted about 30 minutes, and while Trump mentioned the possibility of “normalizing” relations with Damascus, Hayward indicated that Syria might consider joining the Abraham Accords to establish ties with Israel.
This marked the first in-person interaction between U.S. and Syrian leadership in almost three decades.
After the first segment of his Middle Eastern trip, as he traveled from Saudi Arabia to Qatar, Trump expressed high regard for his meeting with Al-Sharaa.
“He’s a young, impressive individual, a tough guy with a strong history, a real fighter. He might just have what it takes to make a difference,” Trump remarked.
The order appears to come at a time when, as noted by Breitbart News, Israel is pursuing peace agreements that could involve Syria and Lebanon.
