The US President Donald Trump reported that he is going to lift US sanctions on Syria.
He said this during a speech in Saudi Arabia.
Trump called US sanctions against Syria, imposed during the rule of former President Bashar al-Assad, "cruel and destructive". But he noted that they served an "important function" at the time.
"But now is their time to shine. Time to shine. Weʼre lifting them all [sanctions]. Good luck, Syria, show us something special," Trump said.
Trump said he decided to lift sanctions on Syria after talks with Saudi Arabiaʼs Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He made the public announcement after a White House official reported that he was scheduled to meet with Syriaʼs new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia.
A few days before leaving for Saudi Arabia, Donald Trump said he was considering easing sanctions imposed during the Assad regime that block trade and banking in Syria in order to give the country a "fresh start".
"A lot of people have asked me about this because the sanctions that weʼve put in place are actually not allowing them to develop. So we want to see if we can help them in any way, and weʼll make a decision on that," Trump said.
The sanctions against Syria have several directions: against people and organizations associated with Assad, who are engaged in chemical weapons, drug trafficking, as well as trade in weapons and equipment for repression. There are also restrictions on trade in Syrian cultural goods. Western countries, in particular the United States, believed that these sanctions were necessary because of the brutality of the regime of fugitive President Bashar Assad towards Syrians.
The leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebel group Ahmed al-Sharaa became the new president of Syria in January 2025. He has repeatedly stressed that the country is exhausted by war and poses no threat to either its neighbors or the West. He calls for the lifting of international sanctions on Syria, as they were imposed against the already overthrown regime of Bashar al-Assad.
Last week, Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa met with French President Emmanuel Macron, who helped lift UN travel restrictions, and suggested that the EU could gradually lift sanctions if the new regime follows through on promises of reform.
The Timesʼ sources noted that al-Sharaa offered Trump a Ukrainian-style mineral deal in exchange for sanctions relief, as well as the construction of Trump Tower in Damascus.
The overthrow of the Assad regime in Syria
On December 8, 2024, the Syrian opposition entered the Syrian capital, Damascus, and overthrew the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, who had been in power for 24 years. Assad himself fled to Moscow.
Syrian rebels formed a transitional government, led by Muhammad Bashir, who led the "Salvation Government" — a political structure created in 2017 in territories controlled by the Syrian opposition, primarily in the province of Idlib.
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