ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - US President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that he will lift sanctions on Syria as part of a broader push to normalize relations with Damascus. The move comes hours after a White House official confirmed that Trump is expected to “say hello” to Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa during his visit to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.
"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 Riyadh.
Earlier in the day, a senior White House official, speaking on background to reporters, including Rudaw’s, stated that “the President has agreed to say hello to the Syrian President while in Saudi Arabia tomorrow [Wednesday].” No further details were provided.
The remarks come a day after President Trump on Monday stated that he may ease US sanctions on Syria to allow Damascus a “fresh start.”
“We’re going to have to make a decision on the sanctions, which we may very well relieve. We may take them off of Syria because we want to give them a fresh start,” he said, noting that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and “many people” had urged him to do so.
“The way we have them sanctioned, it doesn’t really give them much of a start. So we want to see if we can help them out. We’ll make that determination.”
On December 8, a coalition of opposition groups led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), then commanded by Sharaa, ousted the regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. Sharaa was appointed interim president in late January.
While HTS remains designated as a terrorist organization by the US, Washington previously offered a $10 million reward for Sharaa’s capture, but the bounty was dropped in late December.
A meeting between the US president and Sharaa would mark a major diplomatic boost for the interim Syrian government.
Since taking power, the new leadership in Damascus has repeatedly called on the international community to lift Assad-era sanctions, arguing that they are hindering the country’s economic recovery and post-war reconstruction.
For its part, the US had issued a six-month sanctions exemption to facilitate humanitarian aid, though Syrian officials have said the move had limited effect.
In March, Washington presented Damascus with a list of eight conditions for potential sanctions relief. These included the destruction of any remaining Assad-era chemical weapons and guarantees that no foreign nationals would hold senior positions in the new government.
Speaking to Rudaw on Saturday, Syrian Economy Minister Mohammed Nidal al-Shaar notably anticipated stating that the international sanctions issue “will be resolved in the near future.”
The US President’s remarks come as he is currently in Saudi Arabia - the first stop on a regional tour that also includes the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
The visit marks a significant diplomatic and economic initiative in his second term, with a strong focus on securing major investment deals and enhancing regional ties.
During his stay in Riyadh, Trump secured a landmark $600 billion investment commitment from Saudi Arabia, covering key sectors such as artificial intelligence, energy infrastructure, and healthcare.
Additionally, the US and and Saudi Arabia finalized a $142 billion arms deal, reinforcing the strategic and defense cooperation between the two allies.
