Trump Will Lift US Sanctions on Syria at Request of Saudi Crown Prince

The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia has requested that US President Donald Trump relax sanctions on Syria.

As he attempts to stabilize the war-torn country, US President Donald Trump has given interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa a major assist by announcing that he will relax sanctions on Syria at the request of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince.

Trump’s surprise statement came during his regional tour, which started in Saudi Arabia. Indicating a planned meeting between the president and the former al-Qaeda leader, who was imprisoned by the United States for five years in Iraq, the White House said that Trump would meet Sharaa while in Saudi Arabia. Wednesday is the anticipated date of the meeting.

Sharaa is scheduled to visit Riyadh to meet with Trump, according to two sources close to the Syrian government. During Bashar al-Assad’s leadership, the United States imposed strict sanctions on Syria, which were upheld until the almost 13-year struggle came to an end in December when Assad was overthrown. Saudi Arabia has been adamant in its demand that the sanctions be removed.

Trump announced the lifting of all sanctions during a speech at an economic gathering in Riyadh, saying that although they had previously had a valuable function, it was now time for Syria to go forward.

To give Syria a chance at greatness, Trump declared, “I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria.” They have a chance to shine now. We are removing all of them. Good luck, Syria. Please do something truly unique for us.

In 2016, Sharaa, who had previously served as the head of al-Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, broke from the international terrorist organization. Even after officially disbanding in January, his organization, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, is still classified as a terrorist organization by the UN and the US.