On Tuesday, President Trump announced that he will lift sanctions on Syria. Trump is expected to meet with Ahmed al-Shara, Syria’s new president, on Wednesday in Saudi Arabia as his first major state visit of the current term. The announcement, which came as a surprise, sparked a positive reaction from citizens across Syria who celebrated the sanctions’ lifting. Al-Shara had argued that the sanctions were the result of crimes committed by Syria’s previous ruling regime, thus they should be lifted. 

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/13/world/middleeast/trump-syria-president-meeting.html