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US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order ending many U.S. economic sanctions on Syria, following through on a promise he made to the country’s new interim leader, AP reported.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the move was designed to “promote and support the country’s path to stability and peace,” according to AP.
The executive order is meant to “end the country’s isolation from the international financial system, setting the stage for global commerce and galvanizing investments from its neighbors in the region, as well as from the United States,” Treasury’s acting undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, Brad Smith, told reporters on a call Monday to preview the administration’s action, according to AP.
Monday’s actions do not rescind sanctions imposed on ousted former President Bashar Assad, his top aides, family members and officials who had been determined to have committed human rights abuses or been involved in drug trafficking or part of Syria’s chemical weapons program, according to AP.
The EU had likewise earlier announced intentions to lift its sanctions on Syria to help the country develop.