Syria welcomes easing of sanctions imposed on it    

- Syria welcomed Saturday the move by the Trump administration to ease sanctions imposed on the war-torn country, calling it a "positive step" to ease humanitarian and economic suffering.

- A statement by the foreign ministry said Syria "extends its hand" to anyone that wants to cooperate with Damascus, on the condition that there is no intervention in the country's internal affairs.

- A day earlier, the Trump administration granted Syria sweeping exemptions from sanctions.

- A measure by the State Department waived for six months a tough set of sanctions imposed by Congress in 2019. A Treasury Department action suspended enforcement of sanctions against anyone doing business with a range of Syrian individuals and entities, including Syria's central bank.

Agencies Washington

The Trump administration granted Syria sweeping exemptions from sanctions Friday in a big first step toward fulfilling the president's pledge to lift a half-century of penalties on a country shattered by 13 years of civil war.

While broad, the administration's actions could possibly be reversed. Syrians say they need permanent relief to secure the tens of billions of dollars in investment needed to rebuild after a conflict that fragmented the country, displaced or killed millions of people, and left behind thousands of foreign fighters.

A measure by the State Department waived for six months a tough set of sanctions imposed by Congress in 2019. A Treasury Department action suspended enforcement of sanctions against anyone doing business with a range of Syrian individuals and entities, including Syria's central bank.

Syria is now led by Ahmad al-Sharaa, a former militia commander who helped drive longtime autocratic leader Bashar Assad from power late last year. President Donald Trump announced last week that the US would roll back the heavy financial penalties in a bid to give the interim government a better chance of survival.

The Trump administration said businesses and investors are getting the protection  sanctions they need to come back to Syria, calling it "the opportunity for a fresh start." "The only other option was Syria becoming a failed state and civil war," said Mouaz Moustafa, a Syrian American advocate who had campaigned for quick, broad relief. "Now there is hope for a future democratic Syria."  

The congressional sanctions, known as the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, had aimed to isolate Syria's previous rulers by effectively expelling those doing business with them from the global financial system. They specifically block postwar reconstruction, so while they can be waived for 180 days by executive order, investors are likely to be wary of reconstruction projects when sanctions could be reinstated after six months.