Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has welcomed Washington’s decision to remove Syria from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, calling the move a significant breakthrough in easing sanctions.
“Today, Syria shakes off a dark stain and tears away a painful chapter of its past to embark on a path of development, reconstruction and rebuilding,” Mr Sharaa said in a speech.
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The US decision ends a decades-old designation that imposed sweeping economic restrictions on Syria and marks another sign of improving relations between the two countries since the 2024 ouster of Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad.
The Treasury Department announced related sanctions relief.
The US Department of State also withdrew its designation of the al-Nusra Front — later known as Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) — as a global terrorist organisation.
Mr Sharaa led the group, which launched the lightning offensive that brought down Mr Assad.
Al-Nusra Front was once Al-Qaeda’s Syrian branch before severing ties with the network in 2016.
Syria’s new authorities are seeking investment to help revive the country and repair infrastructure devastated by more than a decade of civil war.
The United States first announced in July that it intended to remove Syria from the state sponsors of terrorism list, a decision widely viewed as a show of confidence in Mr Sharaa.
Yesterday’s action offered Syria “a path to prosperity”, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
It “eliminates the final major barriers for private sector investment in Syria and promotes Syria’s economic recovery and reintegration into the global economy,” he said in a statement.
Syrian Foreign Minister Assad al-Shaibani called Washington’s decision a “historic milestone”, saying it demonstrated “the new Syrian state’s commitment to international peace and security”.
Finance Minister Mohammed Barnieh described the move as a “success for Syrian diplomacy”, according to the official news agency SANA.
It “opens a major and long-awaited door to strengthening Syria’s integration into the global economic and financial system, attracting investment and modern technologies, and supporting development opportunities”.
