President says Syria 'shakes off dark stain' with removal from US terror list

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Tuesday hailed the United States’ decision to remove Syria from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, calling it a major step towards easing sanctions and reviving the country’s economy.

“Today, Syria shakes off a dark stain and tears away a painful chapter of its past to embark on a path of development, reconstruction and rebuilding,” Sharaa said in a speech.

Washington’s decision on Monday rescinded a decades-old designation that had subjected Syria to severe economic restrictions, marking another step towards warmer ties between the two countries following the ouster of longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad in 2024.

The US Treasury Department announced corresponding sanctions relief.

Sharaa expressed his “many thanks to the President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, and to all the friendly and supportive nations that stood by us”.

The US State Department also revoked its designation of the al-Nusra Front, later known as Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), as a global terrorist organisation. Sharaa led the group, which spearheaded the offensive that toppled Assad.

The group was formerly Al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria before breaking away from the organisation in 2016.

Syria’s new authorities are seeking to attract investment to help rebuild infrastructure devastated by more than a decade of civil war.

The United States had announced in July its intention to remove Syria from the state sponsors of terrorism list, a move widely seen as a vote of confidence in Sharaa.

Monday’s decision gave Syria “a path to prosperity”, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.

The move “eliminates the final major barriers for private sector investment in Syria and promotes Syria’s economic recovery and reintegration into the global economy,” Rubio said in a statement.

Syrian Foreign Minister Assad al-Shaibani described Washington’s decision as a “historic milestone”, saying it reflected “the new Syrian state’s commitment to international peace and security”.

Finance Minister Mohammed Barnieh called the move a “success for Syrian diplomacy”, according to the official news agency SANA.

It “opens a major and long-awaited door to strengthening Syria’s integration into the global economic and financial system, attracting investment and modern technologies, and supporting development opportunities”, he said.