ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned on Tuesday that Syria may only be weeks away from descending into another civil war, highlighting Washington’s commitment to supporting the country’s transitional government. His remarks follow US President Donald Trump’s decision last week to lift sanctions imposed on Syria.
Speaking before the Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee, Rubio stated, “It is our assessment that, frankly, that the [Syrian] transitional authority, given the challenges they're facing, are maybe weeks, not many months, away from potential collapse and a full-scale civil war of epic proportions - basically the country splitting up.”
Rubio emphasized, “We want to help that government succeed, because the alternative is full-scale civil war and chaos, which would, of course, destabilize the entire region.”
The senior US diplomat’s remarks followed Trump’s announcement in mid-May to end US sanctions on Syria, part of a broader effort to normalize relations with Damascus.
“I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness,” Trump declared during a speech in Saudi Arabia.
The next day, Trump met with Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa during a high-profile summit in Riyadh, hosted by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) and attended remotely by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt then quoted President Trump as urging Sharaa to normalize relations with Israel, expel all “foreign terrorists” from Syria, and cooperate with the US to prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State (ISIS), among other conditions.
For his part, Rubio on Thursday met Syria’s Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani in Turkey, where he reaffirmed Washington’s “support for sanctions relief to stabilize Syria,” according to a State Department readout.
Rubio was quoted as welcoming the Syrian government’s “calls for peace with Israel, efforts to end Iran’s influence in Syria, commitment to ascertaining the fate of US citizens missing or killed in Syria, and elimination of all chemical weapons.”
He also stressed “the critical importance of protecting the human rights of all Syrians, regardless of ethnicity or religion.”
Meanwhile, Syria’s Foreign Ministry reported that the two senior diplomats discussed the lifting of US sanctions and prospects for improving bilateral relations between Damascus and Washington.
Syria’s current transitional leadership came to power after a swift offensive in early December led by a coalition of opposition groups headed by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which toppled the regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. In late January, HTS’s then leader, Sharaa, was appointed interim president.
Since taking office, the new leadership in Damascus has made lifting international sanctions a top priority. While several countries have expressed openness to removing Assad-era restrictions, they have emphasized the need for the new leadership to meet critical benchmarks.
In addition to the US, the European Union on Tuesday officially decided to lift its economic sanctions on Syria, marking a major shift in its approach towards Damascus.
In a statement on X, Kaja Kallas, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission, stated, “Today, we took the decision to lift our economic sanctions on Syria.”
“We want to help the Syrian people rebuild a new, inclusive, and peaceful Syria,” she added, reaffirming the EU’s long-standing support for the Syrian people.
