President Trump said Tuesday he would lift sanctions on Syria and devote his economic lifeline to a country destroyed by nearly 14 years of civil war and decades of dictatorship under the Assad family rule.
Mr. Trump is expected to meet Syria's new president Ahmed Al-Shara on Wednesday in Saudi Arabia, where U.S. leaders will be in state for the first time in their second term. Mr. Al-Shara led the Rebel Alliance, which removed President Bashar al-Assad in Syria in December.
The U.S. president announced surprises when talking about a business forum in the Saudi capital Riyadh to end sanctions, where crowds burst into cheers and gave him a stand to applaud.
The decision represents the change in Syria’s oceans, breaking the economic stifle of a country that is crucial to the stability of the Middle East.
“There is a new administration that hopes to successfully stabilize the country and maintain peace,” Trump said. “That's what we want to see in Syria.”
Throughout Syria, people are pouring into the streets of major cities to cheer on the news they hope to alleviate the suppression of poverty that most of the population faces.
Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani praised the move as a “new beginning on the road to reconstruction” and praised Saudi Arabia as the “voice of reason and wisdom” in the region. He did not mention the United States directly.
Since Mr. Assad's removal, Syrians have argued that the fall of the regime should end sanctions.
“The imposition of sanctions is a response to crimes committed by previous regimes against the people,” Al-Shara told the New York Times in an interview last month.
In response to the Assad government's brutal crackdown on the 2011 uprising, which began in 2011 and was trapped in a civil war that killed hundreds of thousands of people.
Mr Trump said he had made a decision after he spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who supported the anti-Assad rebellion, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Mr. Trump has been trying to increase Saudi investment to the United States, and the Saudi prince said this week that he will work to increase Riyadh's total commitment from $600 billion to $1 trillion, as the president calls for.
“I will order the sanctions on Syria to stop,” Mr. Trump said on Tuesday, adding: “Oh, what I did for the Crown Prince.”
Mr. Trump, who established close diplomatic and commercial relations with the Kingdom, landed in Riyadh and was welcomed by luxury. The Saudis launched a Guard of Honor, a team of Arab horses greeted with a group of royals and business leaders.
The comfortable relationship between Mr. Trump and the Kingdom provides Gulf leaders with the opportunity to promote sanctions on Syria, many of whom believe this is crucial to stopping economic collapse and preventing new conflicts from spreading beyond their borders.
“The Syrian economy is fragmented, but the position of the region is expected, if not desperate, to help it get back on its feet,” Charles Lister, a senior fellow at the Middle East College in Washington, wrote in an email. “With the U.S. sanctions, Syria will be able to seek recovery, reconstruction and reintegration into the world for the first time in decades.”
In Damascus, the Syrian capital, thousands of revelers gathered in the Umayad Square in the central region, waving Syrian and Saudi flags while fireworks exploded. Some people shouted revolutionary slogans against Mr. Assad. They are pleased that their country may soon be able to reintegrate into the global financial system and begin rebuilding.
“Things will get cheaper,” said Intisar Al-Moussa, a 49-year-old local government employee. “We will be able to buy what they want for our children and give them a good education. We will be like other countries.”
She celebrated the square with her sister, brother, mother and other relatives and said the news changed her mind about Mr. Trump.
“We didn't like Trump before, but now we love him because he stands with us,” she said.
She also had another wish: “We hope our salary will be improved a little.”
Crowds are also celebrated in the main cities of Holmes and Aleppo.
It is unclear how extensive the U.S. President may hold a meeting with Mr. Al-Shara on Wednesday. A White House official said Mr. Trump agreed to “say hello” to Syrian leaders, both in Saudi Arabia.
In his speech on Tuesday, Trump opposed Iran, one of the international chief allies of the ousted Assad dictatorship. He called the country the “largest and most destructive” force, threatening the stability and prosperity of the Middle East, and vowed that there would never be nuclear weapons.
If Mr. Al-Shara does have a face-to-face meeting with Mr. Trump, he will have a rare opportunity to provide a case to world leaders who have a huge shaping Syria’s future. It would also be a stunning turnaround for the one who once led the Al Qaeda branch and before his ties to Jihad, he tried to ease his image in hopes of gaining wider appeal.
In the months since the Rebel Alliance seized Damascus and overthrew Mr. Al-Assad, the United States has maintained a multi-layered sanctions regime, which has pushed the country to the brink of economic collapse as the war has.
Critics criticizing U.S. sanctions believe that eliminating them could allow the international aid and investment needed to help the country recover from the war.
European leaders are eager to promote stability and prevent new waves of immigration to their shores, which also drives more economic participation.
However, even if Europe begins lifting some sanctions, few businesses or regional governments are willing to invest in the country under the burden of U.S. sanctions – not sure if this will arouse Trump's anger.
The Trump administration has been staying distanced from Mr. Al-Shara's fledgling administration for several months. Some U.S. officials expressed deep doubts about Mr. al-Shara's motivations and his commitment to protecting religious minorities, pointing to his Islamist direction and history with Al Qaeda.
The U.S. government has also issued requirements related to counter-terrorism, as well as other issues that must be considered for its relief. The Syrian government said it was necessary to negotiate some requirements, such as the ban on foreign combatants from the Syrian government and armed forces. But at the same time, it has already moved towards meeting other needs.
Syria recently brought a team of forensic experts from Qatar into the remains of Americans killed by the Islamic State.
Syrian officials told U.S. intermediaries that they were trying to avoid conflicts with all neighbors, including Israel, and welcomed U.S. investment.
Regional and European leaders have been working to draw attention from the Trump administration’s attention to sanctions. But the trend has begun to change recently. Mr. Trump hinted that he would rethink the issue before his trip to the Middle East.
Last week, French President Emmanuel Macron provided diplomatic promotion to Mr. Al-Shara as the first European leader to preside over the Syrian presidential capital, announcing the gradual lifting of EU sanctions on Syria – provided that the new leader keeps the country stable.
“I told the Syrian president that if he continues to follow his own path, we will continue to move forward,” Macron said.
Eric Schimitt Contributed reports from Washington.
