President Trump announced in a speech in Saudi Arabia that he is lifting U.S. sanctions on Syria “to give them a chance.”
Why it matters: Trump’s announcement is a dramatic shift in U.S. policy towards Syria less than six months after the collapse of the Assad regime. The sanctions crippled the Syrian economy and brought the country to the verge of bankruptcy.
Trump is also expected to meet with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Riyadh on Wednesday, according to two sources familiar with the plan.
Assad’s son, Bashar al-Assad, was toppled in December in a lightning rebel offensive that brought al-Sharaa to power after 14 years of devastating civil war.
What they’re saying: Trump said he hopes the new Syrian government manages to stabilize the country and keep the peace and stressed he will continue the process of normalization of U.S.-Syrian relations.
“After discussing the situation in Syria with the Crown Prince [Mohammed bin Salman] and also with President Erdogan of Turkey, who called me the other day and asked for a very similar thing … I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness,” Trump said with the crowd bursting into a standing ovation.
