Trump Signs Executive Order To Revoke US Sanctions To Syria

JAKARTA - President Donald Trump signed an executive order ending US sanctions on Syria. The lifting of Syrian sanctions allows the country's isolation of the international financial system to end.

The move will allow the US to defend sanctions against the ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, his colleagues, who violate human rights.

Sanctions also remain in place on drug dealers, people associated with chemical weapons activity, ISIS affiliates, and Islamic State as well as proxies for Iran.

Assad was ousted in December in a swift attack by rebels led by Islamists. Syria has since taken steps to rebuild international relations.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibini said Trump's lifting of Syrian sanctions would open the door to the reconstruction and long-awaited development.

He said the move would "break up barriers" to economic recovery and open the country to the international community.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Trump met in Riyadh in May in which, in a major policy change, Trump unexpectedly announced he would lift US sanctions against Syria, prompting Washington to relax its actions significantly.

Several members of Congress have pushed for the action to be completely repealed, while Europe has announced the end of its economic sanctions regime.

"Syria needs to be given the opportunity, and that's what happened," said the US Special Envoy for Syria Thomas Barrack.

The White House said the order directed the Foreign Minister to review the appointment of terrorist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a Sharaa-led rebel group rooted in al Qaeda, as well as the appointment of Syria as a terrorism-supporting country.

The White House said the government would continue to monitor Syria's progress on key priorities including taking concrete steps towards normalizing relations with Israel, dealing with foreign terrorists, deporting Palestinian terrorists, and banning Palestinian terrorist groups.