WASHINGTON, May 24 — The Trump administration issued orders on Friday that it said would effectively lift sanctions on Syria, after United States (US) President Donald Trump pledged to unwind the measures this month to help the country rebuild after a devastating civil war.
The Treasury Department issued a general license that authorizes transactions involving the interim Syrian government led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa, the central bank, and state-owned enterprises.
The general license, known as GL25, "authorizes transactions prohibited by the Syrian Sanctions Regulations, effectively lifting sanctions on Syria," the Treasury said in a statement.
"GL25 will enable new investment and private sector activity consistent with the President’s America First strategy," it said in a statement.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also issued a 180-day waiver under the Caesar Act to ensure that sanctions do not obstruct investment and to facilitate the provision of electricity, energy, water and sanitation and enable humanitarian efforts.
"Today’s actions represent the first step in delivering on the President’s vision of a new relationship between Syria and the United States," he said in a statement, adding that Trump had made clear his expectation that action by the Syrian government would follow sanctions relief.
The White House said that after Trump met Sharaa last week, the president asked Syria to adhere to several conditions in exchange for sanctions relief, including telling all foreign militants to leave Syria, deporting what he called Palestinian terrorists, and helping the US prevent the resurgence of Daesh.
"President Trump is providing the Syrian government with the chance to promote peace and stability, both within Syria and in Syria’s relations with its neighbours," Rubio said.
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People walk on a street in Damascus, Syria, on December 16, 2024. — Picture by REUTERS[/caption]
'Positive step'
Syria welcomed the sanctions waiver early on Saturday, which the Foreign Ministry called a "positive step in the right direction to alleviate the country's humanitarian and economic suffering."
It is keen on cooperating with other countries "on the basis of mutual respect and non-interference in internal affairs. Syria believes that dialogue and diplomacy are the best path to building balanced relations," the ministry said in a statement.
Most of the US sanctions on Syria were imposed on the government of former president Bashar al-Assad and key individuals in 2011 after civil war erupted there. Sharaa led militias that overthrew Assad in December last year.
The general license names Sharaa, formerly sanctioned under the name Abu Muhammad al-Jawlani, among the people and entities with whom transactions are now authorised. It also lists Syrian Arab Airlines, the Central Bank of Syria, and a number of other banks, several state oil and gas companies, and the Four Seasons Damascus hotel.
Last week, Trump unexpectedly announced that he would lift the sanctions at the behest of Saudi Arabia's crown prince, a major US policy shift he made before meeting briefly with Sharaa in Riyadh.
It is hoped that easing Syria sanctions will allow humanitarian organisations working in Syria to engage more fully and encourage foreign investment and trade as the country rebuilds.
However, the US has imposed layers of measures against Syria, cutting it off from the international banking system and barring many imports, and the potential for sanctions on a country to return can chill private-sector investment.
The US first put the country on its list of state sponsors of terrorism in 1979, and since then has added additional sets of sanctions, including several rounds following the country’s 2011 uprising against Assad.
— Reuters
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A man rides a bicycle in Qamishli, Syria, on March 11, 2025, after the Kurdish-led and United States-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, which controls much of Syria's oil-rich northeast, signed a deal agreeing to integrate into Syria's new state institutions. — Picture by REUTERS[/caption]
