Trump to dismantle Syria sanctions program as Israel ties eyed

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Monday will formally dismantle US sanctions against Syria, hoping to reintegrate the war-battered country into the global economy as Israel eyes ties with its new leadership.

Trump lifted most sanctions against Syria in May, responding to appeals from Saudi Arabia and Turkey after former guerrilla Ahmed al-Sharaa ended a half-century of rule by the Assad family.

In an executive order to be signed later Monday, Trump will end a “national emergency” in place since 2004 that imposed sweeping sanctions on Syria, affecting most state-run institutions including the central bank.

“This is in an effort to promote and support the country’s path to stability and peace,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.

Trump meets Syrian president, says he is looking into normalising ties

She said the United States will still maintain sanctions on elements of the former government including Bashar al-Assad, who fled to Russia late last year.

Syria recently carried out its first electronic transfer through the international banking system since around the time it descended into a brutal civil war in 2011.

Israel kept pounding military sites in its historic adversary after the fall of Assad. But Israel said earlier Monday that it was interested in normalizing ties with Syria as well as Lebanon, two countries where influence from Iran’s clerical state has declined sharply in part due to Israeli strikes.

The United States still classifies Syria as a state sponsor of terrorism, a designation that could take longer to lift and which also severely discourages investment.