Trump Meets with Syria's Interim President, Pledges to Lift Sanctions

In the first meeting between US and Syrian leadership in 25 years, President Donald Trump met with Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and pledged to lift all sanctions on Syria.

The Details: The restrictions Trump pledged to lift have cut Syria off from the international financial system. Lifting the sanctions will encourage foreign investment and trade with the country, as well as enable aid agencies to support Syria’s population, 90% of which lives in poverty.

For Context: Sharaa, who once had a $10 million US bounty on his head for his connections to al-Qaeda, led the forces that ended the long-standing dictatorship of the Assad family. Sharaa cut ties with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a Syrian affiliate of al-Qaeda designated a terrorist organization by the US and other countries, in 2016. Syria was declared a State Sponsor of Terrorism in 1979, with the US levying a variety of sanctions against it since then.

How the Media Covered It: CNN (Left bias) quoted from crowd members celebrating in Syria, including one woman who said, “People are optimistic, and our dream is for Arab countries to help, which is something we haven’t seen for years.” Fox News (Right bias) included Trump’s comments, saying he “felt very strongly that this would give them a chance” and that it was his “honor to do so.” BBC (Center bias) noted that Trump’s announcement was “volte-face after his many previous posts on social media that the US had ‘no interest in Syria.’”

Revised by the AllSides staff (of humans) after a first draft from our custom AI. Learn more. Support our mission.