By Gram Slattery and Bo Erickson
ANKARA, July 8 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he thought he would remove Syria from the United States’ list of designated state sponsors of terrorism.
“I think I will,” Trump told reporters in response to a question during a meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Turkey.
The U.S. has previously said it is reviewing Syria’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, which carries restrictions on U.S. foreign assistance, defense exports and certain financial transactions.
Last month Trump signed an executive order terminating a U.S. sanctions program on Syria, allowing an end to the country’s isolation from the international financial system and building on Washington’s pledge to help it rebuild after a devastating civil war.
Several Saudi firms are planning billion-dollar investments as part of Riyadh’s efforts to support its recovery, while other Gulf states have also pledged financial assistance.
The United States has dismantled most of its Syria sanctions regime and repealed the Caesar Act, which imposed sweeping measures on individuals, companies and institutions linked to former President Bashar al-Assad.
But Washington says sanctions will continue to target Assad and his associates, as well as alleged human rights abusers and other actors it says are destabilizing the region.
Trump complimented Sharaa, who was a commander of Al Qaeda’s Nusra Front in Syria before cutting ties with the group in 2016. He then led a coalition of Islamist rebel factions in late 2024 to topple Assad.
“He’s respected by everybody, including me,” Trump said, who has encouraged Sharaa’s actions against the Islamic State militant group in the region.
(Reporting by Gram Slattery in Ankara, Turkey; additional reporting by Bo Erickson and Doina Chiacu in Washington;Editing by David Ljunggren)
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