US ambassador says lifting Syria sanctions will preserve US objective of defeating ISIS

US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy for Syria Thomas Barrack met with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani in Istanbul on Saturday, according to an official statement seen .

The US ambassador said lifting sanctions on Syria will preserve the American objective of defeating ISIS.

“I stressed the cessation of sanctions against Syria will preserve the integrity of our primary objective – the enduring defeat of ISIS – and will give the people of Syria a chance for a better future,” he said in the statement released after the meeting.

“I also commended President al-Sharaa on taking meaningful steps towards enacting President Trump’s points on foreign terrorist fighters, counter-ISIS measures, relations with Israel, and camps and detention centers in [Northeast] Syria,” it added.

Barrack said Syria and US affirmed their commitment to investment in the private sector in order to rebuild the Syrian economy: “The Syrian side and I affirmed our commitment to continuing these important conversations and to working together to develop private sector investment in Syria to rebuild the economy, including through investment by regional and global partners such as [Turkey], the Gulf, Europe, and the United States.”

He said the issue of sanctions on Syria was resolved, and that it was now time to beacon a “new, welcoming Syria without sanctions.”