US President Donald Trump said he had installed Syria's President Ahmad Al Shara in office. Asked about the US response to the way Kurds are being treated in Syria, Mr Trump said: “The President of Syria, who I essentially put there, is doing a phenomenal job. He's a rough guy, not a choirboy, a choirboy couldn't do it – but Syria's coming together and coming together well.”
Mr Trump had repeatedly praised Mr Al Shara, calling him “handsome”, a “very strong leader” and saying that he has a “strong past”. Mr Al Shara was once the leader of a former Al Qaeda affiliated group called Hayat Tahrir Al Sham which toppled dictator Bashar Al Assad in a lightning offensive in December 2024.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) had been the US’s primary partner on the ground in fighting ISIS, receiving military training and support from Washington. An offensive led by government forces recaptured areas under SDF control, leading to clashes which ended in agreement, mediated by the US, to integrate Kurdish forces into state institutions.
The US has been making moves to thaw ties with Syria which had been frozen since 2012 – a year after a war broke out between the former regime and opposition forces.
Since Mr Al Shara took over, the US has removed Syria from its sanctions list, repealed the Caesar Act sanctions, and removed a $10 million bounty it once had on Mr Al Shara's head.
The Syrian President gave a special thanks to Mr Trump “for responding to the call of the Syrian people, and to the members of Congress for recognising the sacrifices of the Syrian people”. He was speaking after a historic visit to Washington in November.
Most recently, the Trump administration set its sights on reopening its embassy in Damascus, 14 years after its closure. The administration sent a notice to Congress this month informing politicians of the State Department's “intent to implement a phased approach to potentially resume embassy operations in Syria”.
It was not immediately clear when the embassy would officially reopen.
The February 10 notification said that spending on the plans would begin in 15 days, the Associated Press reported.
