President Trump, on a state visit to Saudi Arabia, said he made the decision after speaking to the Saudi crown prince. The president is trying to drum up Saudi investment in the U.S.
President Trump said on Tuesday that he would lift U.S. sanctions on Syria, throwing an economic lifeline to a country devastated by nearly 14 years of civil war and decades of dictatorship under the Assad family.
Mr. Trump was expected to meet for the first time with Syria’s new president, Ahmed al-Shara, on Wednesday in Saudi Arabia, where the American leader is making the first major state visit of his second term. Mr. al-Shara led the rebel alliance that ousted President Bashar al-Assad in Syria in December.
The U.S. president made the surprise announcement to end sanctions as he addressed a business forum in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, where the crowd erupted in cheers and gave him a standing ovation.
The decision represents a sea change for Syria, breaking the economic stranglehold on a country seen as critical to the stability of the Middle East.
“There is a new government that will, hopefully, succeed in stabilizing the country and keeping peace,” Mr. Trump said. “That’s what we want to see in Syria.”
Across Syria, people poured into the streets of major cities to cheer the news they hope will alleviate the crushing poverty that the majority of the population faces.
