“Oh what I do for the [Saudi] Crown Prince,” Mr Trump added. He said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, which backed Mr Sharaa’s war, had also requested the same policy. Israel, left out on this trip, opposed it.
The sanctions targeted the Assad regime, but Mr Trump said they’re no longer necessary with “a new government that will hopefully succeed in stabilising the country and keeping peace.” He added, “Good luck, Syria. Show us something very special.”
It will have to be special, as there’s no precedent for a former al Qaeda commander such as Mr Sharaa — who rallied jihadists from Syria and beyond — leading a state to peace, stability and amity with the West. Mr Sharaa, who is expected to meet Mr Trump on Wednesday, is still a U.S.-designated terrorist.
Mr Sharaa has said the right things about uniting his country and protecting minorities. He’s also done the US a favour by breaking Iran’s stranglehold on Syria, making it difficult to resupply Hezbollah in Lebanon. There are good reasons to work with him.
But not everything is rosy, and the U.S. had made several requests of Mr Sharaa before major sanctions were to come off. A big one concerns co-operation on counter-terrorism, including ISIS as well as the foreign jihadists who fought alongside Mr Sharaa. Some are now commanders in his new Syrian army.
It would be prudent to secure some action from Mr Sharaa on that matter and others of US interest, such as preventing Turkish power projection in Syria from spiralling into conflict with Israel. How about limits on the Turkish military presence, and reasonable concessions to the security of our Kurdish partners, before the U.S. throws its leverage overboard?
“Waiving congressionally passed sanctions is a complicated process,” Sen. Lindsey Graham points out. Congress will have to receive and review a report demonstrating that Syria is no longer a state sponsor of terrorism. This delay is to Mr Trump’s advantage, if he wants it, giving him leverage with Mr Sharaa to turf foreign jihadists from his regime. Syria will get its fresh start. But its regime can give a little, too.
The Wall St Journal
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The Syrian regime of rebel commander Ahmed al-Sharaa will get a fresh start, President Trump said Tuesday in Riyadh. “I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness,” he told the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum, to sustained applause.