ISTANBUL
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa hailed the role played by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Saudi Arabia in lifting US sanctions on Syria.
“His Excellency President Erdogan and Saudi Arabia mediated last year with US President Donald Trump to lift the sanctions on Syria,” Al-Sharaa said Sunday in an interview with Al Jazeera television.
Al-Sharaa said Syria remains designated by the US as a state sponsor of terrorism, adding that removing the designation falls under the authority of the US State Department based on a recommendation by President Trump.
He said the recommendation would then be submitted to Congress for a 45-day review period to allow objections, after which Trump would sign the final decision formally removing the designation.
Al-Sharaa also said that Damascus had provided assurances addressing the reasons behind the original designation, including commitments that Syria would not serve as a safe haven for terrorism or facilitate the transfer of weapons or funds. He stressed that the guarantees were unrelated to any external roles expected of Syria.
While the US has lifted most sanctions on Syria following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, Syria has remained on Washington’s list of state sponsors of terrorism since 1979, a designation widely viewed as one of the main remaining obstacles to the country’s economic recovery.
