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WASHINGTON, DC - Several members of the Congress, including the former speaker of the House, told Rudaw on Thursday that they welcome President Donald Trump’s decision to lift all sanctions on Syria.
“I want to have peace in Syria, and we'll have to see what that means in terms of the sanctions, but I'm hopeful that we can move to a peaceful resolution for Syria [that has] undergone a terrible thing under their president, who's now gone,” Former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and a congresswoman, said.
Trump announced during his visit to Saudi Arabia his intention to lift US sanctions on Syria as part of a broader strategy to normalize relations with Damascus. The move has been widely welcomed, with Syrians taking to streets to celebrate.
The new leadership in Damascus has expressed its readiness to mend ties with Israel.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani on Thursday meet in Antalya in the presence of the Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
Rubio “welcomed the Syrian government’s calls for peace with Israel, efforts to end Iran’s influence in Syria, commitment to ascertaining the fate of U.S. citizens missing or killed in Syria, and elimination of all chemical weapons. The Secretary underscored the critical importance of protecting the human rights of all Syrians regardless of ethnicity or religion,” read a readout statement from State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce.
The Syrian foreign ministry said in a statement that the three chief diplomats discussed "the details of lifting US sanctions on Syria, improving relations between Damascus and Washington, and exploring ways to build a strategic relationship."
Rubio later told journalists in Turkey’s Antalya that the Syrian leadership has expressed their interest in “being at peace with all of their neighbours, including Israel.”
He added that Damascus has also expressed an interest in “driving out foreign fighters and terrorists and others that would destabilise the country and are enemies of this transitional authority. And they've asked for our help. And so we're going to try to help them."
US State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott told Rudaw during a press briefing that the US has been clear about its expectations from any nation adding that “there have been expectations that the President has communicated to Syria regarding a whole host of actions.”
He added that “those actions that we're hoping that they take are hand in hand with this announcement in terms of lifting sanctions, that opportunity to achieve greatness. So it's the cessation of sanctions, but also the actions we're hoping to see them take would then contribute to that, that long peace, that prosperity the President and Secretary want to see for the entire region.”
Republican Congressman Don Beyer told Rudaw on Thursday that the lifting of sanctions on Syria is an opportunity for Trump “to try to have peace in a nation that are in an area of the world that we've been trying to get peace for years.”
He also commended Trump for his “tremendous job” with the Abraham Accords - a series of normalization agreements between Israel and several Arab countries.
Don Beyer, a Democratic lawmaker, told Rudaw that the lifting of sanctions is a “move in the right direction,” adding that the US wants to give the new government in Damascus “a chance to show its democratic credentials, to bring the people together, to bring peace to Syria.”
He noted that “There's a lot of stuff that we will need to pressure them into living up to the promise of a democracy. But overall, I think this is probably the right intermediate step.”
Johnny Olszewski, another Democratic congressman, said the new Syrian leadership has a chance to “reset with new leadership in Syria.”
He added, “I'm a Democrat, but I believe that having diplomacy and having world security is really important and advancing the interests of all Americans here at home as well.”
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