US President Donald Trump has said he will lift sanctions on Syria, after meeting with its leader Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Trump has agreed to “say hello” to Syria’s interim president on Wednesday in Saudi Arabia as part of his tour of the Middle East, the White House said.
The announcement of the lifting of sanctions was met with elation in the Syrian capital of Damascus, where cheering, dancing and celebratory gunfire were heard.
“With the support of the great leaders in this room, we are currently exploring normalising relations with Syria’s new government,” Trump said, confirming his brief meeting with al-Sharaa.
The “cessation of sanctions” will give Syria “a fresh start”, Trump said.
“We will be dropping all sanctions.”
The sanctions had previously blocked any foreign financing, including aid, from reaching Syria and were originally intended to put pressure on the dictatorships of now-ousted President Bashar al-Assad.
The US president said he conferred with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday about the lifting of sanctions.
He said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will be meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani in Turkiye to further discuss US-Syria relations.