The nearly 13 year civil war in Syria finally came to an end in December 2024. The new government in Syria led by interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa now faces the herculean task of rebuilding a nation that lies in ruins due to war and decades of autocratic rule by the Assad family. Syria is in need of tens of billions of dollars to restore its bombed out infrastructure and bring economic recovery to a poverty-stricken population.
During his recent trip to the Middle East, President Donald Trump expressed hope that President al-Sharaa will “succeed in stabilizing the country and keeping peace.” To help him do so, President Trump announced the U.S. “has already taken the first steps toward restoring normal relations between the United States and Syria for the first time in more than a decade.”
“I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness. The sanctions were brutal and crippling and served as an important — really an important function nevertheless at the time. But now it’s their time to shine.”
In a post on the social media platform X, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said, “President Trump encouraged President Al-Sharaa to do a great job for the Syrian people, and urged him to sign onto the Abraham Accords with Israel; tell all foreign terrorists to leave Syria; deport Palestinian terrorists; help the United States to prevent the resurgence of ISIS; and assume responsibility for ISIS detention centers in Northeast Syria.”
President Trump added that he is “pursuing peaceful engagement everywhere possible, offering a strong and steady hand of friendship to all that will take it in good faith.”
“If the responsible nations of this region seize this moment, put aside your differences, and focus on the interests that unite you, then all of humanity will soon be amazed at what they will see right here in this geographic center of the world. . . .For the first time in a thousand years, the world will look at this region not as a place of turmoil and strife and war and death, but as a land of opportunity and hope.”
“We will work together,” said President Trump. “We will be together. We will succeed together. [And] we will win together.”
Giving the New Syrian Government a Chance
- Policy Office
The new government in Syria led by interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa now faces the task of rebuilding a nation that lies in ruins due to war and decades of autocratic rule by the Assad family.
