(Washington) American president Donald Trump signed a decree formalizing the dismantling of American sanctions against Syria on Monday, a new stage in the rapprochement between the two countries after the fall of Bashar al-Assad.
“This is an effort to promote and support the country’s path towards stability and peace,” the spokesperson for the White House, Karoline Leavitt, told the press, before signing the decree behind closed doors.
President Trump had created surprise by announcing during a visit to Riyadh on May 13 the US sanctions, saying that he wanted to “give a chance of greatness” to the new authorities of Damascus.
The next day he had met the acting Syrian president the next day, Ahmad al-Chareh, who directed the coalition of radical Islamist rebel groups who overthrew the Syrian president in December.
Since then, Washington has softened most of its sanctions to facilitate the return of Syria to the international financial system and implements authorizations to encourage new investments in Syria.
The State Department has issued an exemption under the “César law” on the protection of civilians in Syria. This 2020 law provided for severe sanctions against any entity or company cooperating with the fallen power of Bashar al-Assad.
Syria, led by the Assad clan for several decades, has been the subject of international sanctions since 1979. These were reinforced after the repression by the power of Bashar al-Assad of pro-Democracy demonstrations in 2011, an element trigger for the war.
The presidential decree, which evokes the “positive measures” taken by the Syrian authorities since the fall of Assad, dismantled the global architecture surrounding the American sanctions, including a “national emergency” declaration dated 2004.
The head of Syrian diplomacy, Assaad al-Chibani, praised on X “an important turning point, which promotes the entry of Syria into a new phase of prosperity, stability and openness to the international community”.
“With the lifting of this great obstacle to economic recovery, the long-awaited doors of reconstruction and development open, as well as the rehabilitation of vital infrastructure, thus creating the necessary conditions for a worthy and safe return of the Syrian displaced in their homeland,” he added.
However, the United States retains the sanctions targeting Assad, which fled in Russia, “its partners, the authors of human rights violations, drug traffickers and Islamic State”, according to the decree.
The withdrawal of Syria from the American list of countries accused of supporting terrorism is not on the agenda but is the subject of “an exam”, according to an official under the cover of anonymity.
The lifting of American sanctions occurs while the Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gideon Saar, said on Monday that Israel was “interested” by normalization of his relations with Syria and Lebanon as part of the Abraham agreements of 2020.
Sponsored by the American president during his first mandate at the White House, these agreements saw Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Sudan establish formal links with Israel.
The American emissary for Syria Tom Barrack assured this on Monday that the Israeli strikes against Iran had offered a “shooting window that never existed” before in the Middle East.
