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US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he was inclined to remove Syria from the US State Department's list of state sponsors of terrorism, praising the country's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and signalling further steps toward normalising ties with Damascus.
Speaking to reporters during a meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on the sidelines of the 2026 NATO Summit in Ankara, Trump said, "I think I will. Why wouldn't I? He's done a great job." "Maybe he would have brought that up in a little while -- that's a good question. Yeah, any problems with that? I think we should. Yeah, I will," Trump added. Syria has remained on the US State Department's list of state sponsors of terrorism since December 1979. However, lawmakers from both major US political parties have recently called for the designation to be lifted following the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in December 2024. Trump's remarks come amid a broader push by the United States to normalise relations with Syria. Last year, the Trump administration revoked the foreign terrorist organisation designation for Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), also known as the al-Nusra Front, which spearheaded the movement which led to Assad's fall, led by al-Sharaa. During the interaction, Trump also said he expected Israel to withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon. "I think they are going to. I think they want to," Trump told reporters, without providing a timeline or additional details. Last month, Trump suggested that the issue of Hezbollah in Lebanon could be better handled by Syria. Speaking during a bilateral meeting with the Emir of Qatar on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in France, Trump said that al-Sharaa would take care of the rebel groups if Israel "can't do the job without killing everyone". "He'll do the job. Syria will do the job," Trump said. (ANI)
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