Tom Barrack, US Ambassador to Turkey and former advisor to President Donald Trump, announced on Friday that he would be filling the role of U.S. Special Envoy for Syria, highlighting recent sanctions relief.
In a post on X, Barrack said he will be assuming the role to support Secretary of State Marco Rubio “in the realization of the President’s vision” for the country.
“President Trump has outlined his clear vision of a prosperous Middle East and a stable Syria at peace with itself and its neighbors,” Barrack wrote in the post.
TRUMP ASKS SYRIA TO JOIN ABRAHAM ACCORDS, NORMALIZE TIES WITH ISRAEL IN RETURN FOR SANCTIONS RELIEF
On May 13, the president committed to lifting the United States’ sanctions against Syria to allow the new government to stabilize the country.
U.S. sanctions were first administered on Damascus in 1979, when it was designated as a state sponsor of terrorism.
Barrack said the cessation of sanctions against Syria will “preserve the integrity of our primary objective — the enduring defeat of ISIS,” and give the people of Syria a chance to recover after the Bashar al-Assad regime was ousted by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham last year.
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Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, a U.S. and U.N.-designated terrorist organization, separated from al Qaeda in 2016.
Nearly 1,500 U.S. troops are stationed in Syria to fight ISIS, and about 10,000 ISIS fighters are being held by the Syrian Democratic Forces, a U.S.-backed Kurdish militia, Fox News Digital previously reported.
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“In this way, we, together with regional partners including Türkiye and the Gulf, are enabling the Syrian government to restore peace, security, and the hope of prosperity,” Barrack wrote. “In the words of the President, we will work together, and we will succeed together.”
Fox News Digital’s Morgan Phillips and Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.
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