ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The relations between Syria and the United States are developing “very well,” the Syrian foreign minister said on Saturday, days after a landmark meeting between presidents Ahmed al-Sharaa and Donald Trump in Washington.
“The visit of the Syrian delegation to Washington, headed by President Ahmed al-Sharaa, was very successful and addressed all issues,” Asaad al-Shaibani said at Chatham House in London.
He emphasized that “relations with the United States are progressing very well and will have a positive impact on the entire region,” noting that the complete removal of the Caesar Act sanctions on Syria “is now only a matter of time.”
The Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019, which was suspended temporarily by the US on Monday, was a sanctions system that targeted the Syrian government and those involved in business with Damascus, cutting the country off from the global economy. The law was enacted during the rule of the deposed Baathist regime under Bashar al-Assad.
The suspension of the sanctions followed a landmark Sharaa-Trump meeting in the White House on Monday.
On Thursday, US Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack also urged for the removal of the sanctions, saying, “The next step in truly ‘giving Syria a chance’ is the full repeal of the Caesar Act.”
Farid al-Madhan, a former Syrian military photographer whose exposed footage of Assad-era torture and human rights abuses led to the passage of the Caesar Act, is set to testify before the US Congress next week in an effort to repeal the act.
On Tuesday, the US Embassy Syria announced that Damascus officially became the 90th partner to join the US-led international coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS).
In May, Trump met with Sharaa in Riyadh, one day after Trump announced he had ordered the cessation of all sanctions on Syria “in order to give them a chance at greatness.”