U.S. President Donald Trump is considering easing sanctions on Syria as its leader, President Ahmed al-Sharaa, proposed signing a minerals agreement and building a Trump Tower in Damascus, the Times reported on May 12.
Al-Sharaa is reportedly offering a deal that would give U.S. companies access to Syria's natural wealth, reminiscent of the minerals agreement Washington recently signed with Kyiv.
The new Syrian leader, who assumed power following the ousting of Russian-backed dictator Bashar al-Assad in a rebel offensive last December, has moved to end Syria's years of isolation and crippling international sanctions.
Al-Sharaa, a former Al-Qaeda affiliate who remains designated as a terrorist by the U.S., is reportedly seeking a meeting with Trump during the latter's visit to Saudi Arabia this week, though no such meeting has been confirmed.
Trump suggested on May 12 that he might ease some of the Assad-era sanctions imposed on Syria, explaining he wants to give the country a "fresh start."
The U.S. and Ukraine signed the minerals agreement on April 30 after months-long, contentious negotiations. Initial plans to sign the deal in late February even collapsed following a heated White House argument between Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The deal establishes a Reconstruction Investment Fund jointly managed by Kyiv and Washington and gives the U.S. special access to projects developing Ukraine's vast deposits of critical minerals, including lithium, titanium, and rare earth elements.
Chris York,
(Updated: )
