A bipartisan group of US politicians has written to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, urging him to remove Syria from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.
They say Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara had shown a commitment to tackling terrorism and that the designation is harming the country's economic recovery.
Republican Representative Joe Wilson joined Democratic senators Jeanne Shaheen – the ranking member on the Senate armed services committee – and Elizabeth Warren in writing the letter.
It was published on Thursday, the same day a bomb blast in Damascus killed at least six people.
The Syrian Interior Ministry said an explosive device went off inside a cafe in Al Hijaz area of the city. Forensic investigators were collecting evidence at the cafe, with no immediate claim of responsibility for what authorities called a bombing intended to create chaos.
The US politicians said the legal grounds for the designation of state sponsor of terrorism no longer apply and the listing "remains a significant barrier to achieving the [US President Donald] Trump administration and congressional priority of giving Syria a chance to succeed."
They said that in addition to tackling ISIS in Syria, Damascus has taken "serious steps" to counter Hezbollah’s networks in the country, particularly by tackling transnational weapons and financial flows.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Although the US has lifted sanctions on Syria since former president Bashar Al Assad's removal, the US designation of the country has unnerved companies that might otherwise invest there.
"Critically, US financial institutions have been clear that the [state sponsor of terrorism] designation represents a key remaining roadblock to Syria’s financial connectivity, which is needed to facilitate private-sector investment and billions of dollars pledged for economic recovery," the letter states.
In April, The National reported that the US believes Syria has taken steps in the right direction to be delisted, although Washington wants more to be done.
Other countries listed as state sponsors of terror are Iran, Cuba and North Korea.
