Syria hails US lifting of Assad-era sanctions

AFP | Damascus

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Syria yesterday hailed the Trump administration’s lifting of US sanctions, as Washington looks to open a new chapter in its relations with Damascus.

US President Donald Trump surprised many with his announcement of the new policy on a Gulf tour earlier this month, during which he shook hands with Syria’s jihadist-turned-interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Trump said he wanted to give the war-torn country’s new rulers “a chance at greatness” after their overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December.

“The Syrian Arab Republic welcomes the decision from the American government to lift the sanctions imposed on Syria and its people for long years,” a foreign ministry statement said.

It described the move as “a positive step in the right direction to reduce humanitarian and economic struggles in the country.”

US sanctions were first imposed on Syria in 1979 under the rule of Bashar al-Assad’s father Hafez. They were sharply expanded after the bloody repression of anti-government protests in 2011, which triggered the country’s civil war.

Washington imposed sweeping sanctions on financial transactions with Syria and made clear it would use sanctions to punish anyone involved in reconstruction as long as Assad remained in power.

Since Assad’s ouster, the new administration has been looking to build relations with the West and roll back sanctions, but some governments had expressed reluctance, pointing to the Islamist past of leading figures.

Sharaa himself was once considered a “terrorist” by Washington, with a $10 million bounty on his head.