The Revocation Of Sanctions For The US Of Syria Is Considered The Former British Diplomat Of Trump's Efforts To 'Lawan' Israel

US President Donald Trump while in Abu Dhabi/PHOTO via Instagram @whitehouse

JAKARTA - The United States' decision to lift sanctions against Syria is an attempt by Donald Trump to "fight" Israel and affirm Washington's independence from its Middle Eastern counterpart.

"The announcement comes at a time when Trump appears to want to show independence from Benjamin Netanyahu's (Israeli authority leader). The Israeli leader is willing to continue to limit Syria because in the end Sharia is the only Arab country with the potential to hold Israel's ambitions," said former British diplomat and ambassador to Syria Peter Ford. , Friday, May 16, reported by ANTARA from Sputnik.

"Therefore, Trump's openness to Syria is an act of resistance against Israel," Ford said, adding that there is a possibility that the US could further pressure Israel to end its aggression in the Gaza Strip peacefully.

He said the figures who accompanied Trump when the announcement was made, namely the Crown Prince and Saudi Arabian Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), had a specific purpose.

"Openness to Syria shows the strength of the Saudi US-Arab relations after briefly strained in the Joe Biden era. Trump hinted that he listened more (the Saudi Crown Prince) than Netanyahu," Ford said.

The development of US-Syria relations provides an opportunity for the US to make Damascus a "protectorate" for Washington, like Jordan, the former ambassador said.

"Israel must reconsider its approach to Syria by containing its attacks on countries that can become US partners and clients. In fact, they seem to have to release some parts of Syria that they annexed," he said.

He views that the restoration of US-Syria relations can take place quickly as the new Syrian authorities, who took advantage of US sanctions to overthrow the Bashar Al-Assad regime, could switch naturally to Washington's "senior partner" in the region.

However, the restoration of relations should also consider the issue of deploying US troops in Syria to prevent the threat of terrorist groups, including ISIS.

"The withdrawal of the US troops looks logical. This will eliminate the main obstacle between the US and Iran because both will be very vulnerable when there is an open war," Ford said.

"Iran can also wisely make this a consideration when the decisive phase in their nuclear negotiations is getting closer," he said.

US President Donald Trump at the US-Saudi Arabia Investment Forum in Riyadh on Tuesday announced his party would instruct the lifting of US sanctions against Syria.

On Wednesday, Trump met Syrian leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa and discussed joint efforts to defeat terrorist groups in their meeting which also was attended by MBS and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Trump also encouraged Al-Sharaa to support the Abrahamic Agreement on normalizing relations with Israel.

After the meeting, Trump praised Al-Sharaa as a "attractive" young leader, "resisted" with a "strong background".