20/5/2025–|Last update: 20:25 (Mecca time)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the lifting of sanctions will help Syria in facing a comprehensive civil war and chaos.
“We want to help the government of Syria to succeed, because our evaluation is that the transitional authority frankly in light of the challenges it faces may be weeks and not several months away from a possible collapse and a comprehensive civil war with devastating dimensions that actually lead to the division of the country,” Rubio added to a hearing in the Senate.
He stressed that “the lifting of sanctions will allow the neighboring countries to start helping the transitional authority in Syria, especially since the result in Syria will have a profound impact on what is happening inside Lebanon.”
He added that the Syrian authorities said that they are a national project to build a state that does not be a platform for the launch of the revolution or launched attacks on Israel, noting that there are two main threats facing the transitional authority in Syria, the Islamic State and Iran.
Rubio called on Congress to take more comprehensive action to develop the private sector and provide economic opportunities for the Syrian people.
In response to a question about the reason for Washington’s delay in opening its embassy in Syria, Rubio attributed the reason to the security concerns, pointing out that the employees of the US embassy in Syria will work from Turkey to help officials in Syria to determine the type of aid they need.
On May 16th, the US Treasury said it was working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Security Council to implement President Donald Trump’s directives regarding the lifting of sanctions on Syria, which began in 1979 and became more comprehensive with the outbreak of the civil war in Syria in 2011.
On December 8, 2024, Syrian factions extended their control over Damascus after other cities, ending 61 years of rule of the Assad family.
On January 29, the Syrian administration announced the appointment of Ahmed Al -Shara as President of the country, in addition to other decisions, including the dissolution of the armed factions and the existing security services in the previous era, the People’s Assembly (Parliament), the Baath Party, and the abolition of the constitution.
