US removes Syria from arms denial list, easing ties with Damascus
The Trump administration is removing Syria from a US list of countries barred from buying or importing American weaponry, in the latest step in a months-long process of easing restrictions on the new government in Damascus and its leaders.
Under the change, arms sales requests from Syria will no longer face an automatic denial and will instead be considered on a case-by-case basis. The move follows earlier steps by Washington to ease economic sanctions, revoke Syria’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism and reopen diplomatic engagement.
In a notice published on Wednesday in the Federal Register, the State Department said it was amending its International Traffic in Arms Regulations, or ITAR, so that Syria is no longer among the countries subject to a policy of denial for licences and other approvals required for the sale of US weapons and munitions. The change takes effect on Thursday.
President Donald Trump acted last year to ease economic sanctions on Syria that had been in place for decades under now-ousted President Bashar Assad. In August, Secretary of State Marco Rubio rescinded Syria’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, helping pave the way for the latest step towards closer ties with the current government.
The State Department has also announced plans to reopen the US Embassy in Damascus, which has been closed for 14 years. With Syria’s removal from the ITAR blacklist, only seven countries remain subject to the policy of denial for licences for US arms exports: Belarus, China, Cuba, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea and Venezuela.
Syria’s interim president, former rebel leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, overthrew the Assad government nearly two years ago and has since pursued a policy of change that has impressed the Trump administration. His moves have raised hopes of eventual stability in a country that was devastated by civil war and the Islamic State insurgency that engulfed north-east Syria and western Iraq for years. Wednesday’s withdrawal of US forces from Iraq may also mean the Syrian government takes on a bigger role in preventing any IS resurgence.
The decision to remove Syria from the US arms denial list marks another easing of restrictions by Washington, alongside sanctions relief, the removal of Syria’s terrorism designation and plans to reopen the US Embassy in Damascus.
