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What is Assad’s Plan to Win Trump’s Trust?
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is making clear efforts to "win" American trust in order to serve his country's interests, which have been ravaged by war. The task of convincing the Trump administration to lift sanctions on Syria, under specific and requested conditions, is of great importance to him, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.
The newspaper mentioned that Assad’s government, in recent weeks, has arrested members of Palestinian groups, a key American demand, and has also shown willingness to communicate with Israel, indicating a desire to avoid outbreak of war.
Darren Kuffe, senior advisor at the International Crisis Group, told the newspaper that "the Syrians are trying. They are not oblivious to the fact that in the absence of tangible American steps, no one will support investment, as the economy is gradually declining."
In a related development, Jonathan Baus, a Trump-supporting Republican activist and CEO of an energy company based in Louisiana, traveled to Damascus last week to present a plan to develop the country’s energy resources, in cooperation with Western companies and a Syrian oil company listed on the American stock exchange. Assad responded positively to the idea.
A senior official at the Syrian Foreign Ministry stated that "the new Syria seeks to build a strategic relationship with the United States based on mutual interests and partnership, especially in the fields of energy and other economic ties. Damascus hopes to become an important and influential ally in Washington during the upcoming phase of Syria’s history."
Meanwhile, James Huitt, a spokesman for the US National Security Council, affirmed that "the United States has been clear from the beginning that the actions of the interim authorities in Syria will determine the future of American support or the possibility of lifting sanctions."
Analysts warned that if the situation continues as it is without American support and access to the US financial system, Syria could become a failed state, potentially spawning extremist groups and increasing instability in the region.
Assad needs President Trump to lift the US sanctions imposed on Syria, which were implemented in recent years to isolate Bashar al-Assad.
At the same time, the US administration has presented Assad’s government with a list of conditions that must be met before any sanctions relief is considered, including helping to locate missing Americans in Syria and allowing the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to access and inspect potential chemical weapons in the country. The Syrian government has already begun working to achieve these two objectives.
