Trump met with al-Sharaa and announced the end of the sanctions.

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, announced the removal of sanctions imposed on Syria before his meeting with the country's interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, as part of his tour of the Middle East.

The announcement was confirmed by the White House and came amid meetings with several leaders, as part of a series of diplomatic meetings in the region.

The measure was received with enthusiasm in Damascus, the Syrian capital, where public celebrations were recorded, including fireworks and gunfire. The U.S. sanctions had restricted for years the entry of financing and international aid, as a pressure mechanism against the regime of Bashar al-Assad, overthrown in December after 13 years of civil war.

Trump defended his decision stating that "it's time for Syria to shine," and highlighted that the removal of sanctions will give the country the opportunity to rebuild itself.

The president also indicated that the request came from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, key allies in the region. "Oh, what I do for the Crown Prince. I like him too much," Trump joked during his speech.

The interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammad al-Golani, is a figure with a noted past. Former leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq and founder of the al-Nusra Front, an Al Qaeda affiliate in Syria that later transformed into Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), al-Sharaa broke with Al Qaeda in 2016 and has since tried to reposition himself as a moderate and unifying figure for the country.

Despite this, until last December he was on the United States' most wanted list, with a $10 million reward for information leading to his capture, which was withdrawn by the administration of Democrat Biden after Assad's fall.

Al-Sharaa has expressed his desire for HTS to be removed from the lists of terrorist organizations, stating that it no longer represents a global threat and is committed to protecting the country's ethnic and religious minorities.

However, the recent violence between Islamist factions, security forces, and members of minority communities such as the Druze and Alawites has increased fears about the new government's difficult challenges.

In a recent press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron, al-Sharaa reiterated that the sanctions were imposed for crimes of the previous regime and that they are no longer justifiable under the new government.

Meanwhile, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, described the lifting of sanctions as a "turning point" for the country's recovery, stating that now Syria can move toward stability, self-sufficiency, and reconstruction.

Former diplomats like Robert Ford, U.S. ambassador to Syria during the presidency of Barack Obama, praised the decision, noting that without the lifting of sanctions it will be impossible to rebuild the country after more than a decade of devastating war.

Ford emphasized the importance of allowing the entry of foreign financing, especially from Gulf countries and humanitarian aid agencies.