Trump Says He Will Remove Syria From U.S. Terrorism Sponsor List

President Trump said Wednesday he will remove Syria from the State Department's list of state sponsors of terrorism, ending a designation that began in 1979. The announcement came during a bilateral meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey.

Meeting and Statements "He's done a great job.

Maybe he would have brought that up. That's a good question. Yeah, any problems with that? I think we should. Yeah, I will," Trump said when asked about the delisting. Trump also praised al-Sharaa for unifying the country in a short period and called him a "strong person" respected by everybody.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the president had notified Congress of the intent to rescind the designation after the required 45-day review period.

Rubio referenced an executive order issued last year that ordered a review of Syria's designation and cited "positive changes and counterterrorism actions" plus formal assurances that Syria will not support international terrorism. Syria was placed on the list under the former Assad government for supporting designated terrorist groups.

The other countries remaining on the list are Cuba, Iran and North Korea.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers wrote to Trump earlier this month supporting removal from the list but said more work is needed on equal representation for women and minorities and on regional security. Officials have said additional steps must be completed before the designation can be lifted.

Lifting the designation would open access to U.S. foreign assistance and could facilitate investments in oil, banking, technology and real estate.

“He's done a really fantastic job as president. He's unified the country in a very short period of time.”