Enab Baladi – Mowaffak al-Khouja
US-Syrian relations have witnessed cautious and conditional openness after the fall of the Assad regime, indicated by rare visits from US delegations and meetings with diplomats from Washington, in exchange for eight conditions set by the latter for granting trust and lifting sanctions.
The most recent US visit to Syria was marked by an American delegation arriving in the Syrian capital, Damascus, led by Congress members Marlin Stutzman from Indiana and Cory Mills from Florida, both from the Republican Party to which US President Donald Trump belongs.
The delegation arrived unofficially, accompanied by members of the Syrian community in the United States, coinciding with the presentation of the eight conditions by the United States to the Syrian administration.
History of relations between US and Syria
Relations between Syria and the United States after the Baath Party’s rule and the Assads, Hafez and Bashar al-Assad, have experienced a cooling that reached the point of severance, as the previous regime turned towards the Eastern bloc, namely Russia and China and those in their orbit.
Syria has faced a series of US sanctions that began in 1979 due to Syrian intervention in the Lebanese war and its stance toward certain Palestinian factions.
Washington tightened its sanctions on Damascus after Bashar al-Assad came to power, in a sequential manner due to multiple stages and reasons.
After the fall of the regime, the relationship between the new government and the administration in Washington unfolded at a pace indicating partial and cautious openness from the American side.
The first official communication occurred days after the fall of al-Assad, on December 20, 2024, followed by the halting of the reward for information on the transitional Syrian president, Ahmed al-Sharaa.
US Congressman Marlin Stutzman at the Sednaya Prison in Damascus – April 19, 2025 (Enab Baladi/Anas al-Khouli)
The delegation’s visit
The visit of Congress members Mills and Stutzman took place on April 18, and included tours of areas devastated by military operations, including the notorious Sednaya Prison, and meetings with Christian clerics and Syrian officials.
Notably, the visit included separate meetings of the congress members with the transitional Syrian president, Ahmed al-Sharaa.
The first meeting was with Mills on the evening of the delegation’s first day, lasting 90 minutes and addressing several issues, including sanctions and Iran, according to Reuters.
In an interview with Qatari al-Araby TV, Mills stated that he discussed with al-Sharaa his vision for the political transition in the country and the move towards governance and free democracy following the fall of the previous Syrian regime.
He mentioned that both parties talked about the relationship with Israel, confirming that al-Sharaa showed openness towards relations with Tel Aviv.
Focus on Israel’s security
The other congress member, Stutzman, also met with al-Sharaa at the conclusion of the American delegation’s visit on April 21.
In an interview with the Israeli Jerusalem Post newspaper, the US congressman also confirmed that al-Sharaa is open to a relationship with Israel in accordance with the Abraham Accords.
The Abraham Accords are a series of normalization agreements between Israel and Arab countries that Trump brokered during his first term.
According to Stutzman, al-Sharaa proposed several conditions, the most important being that Syria remains a unified sovereign state.
“Good impressions”
Stutzman noted in his interview with The Jerusalem Post that the conversation with al-Sharaa was “very good” stating that he was “calm and understanding, and it is clear he is making a significant effort in everything happening since he took power in Syria.”
Researcher at the Jusoor For Studies Center, Wael Alwan, pointed out that there is a “good” indication regarding the consecutive visits of US officials to Damascus, the latest being by the US Congress delegation.
According to Alwan, these indications suggest a building of a new political transition in Syria, emphasizing that the consecutive visits will yield understandings.
At the same time, Alwan stated that there is conditional openness from the United States, which falls within the broader Western openness towards the political transition that has begun effectively with the fall of Assad’s regime, albeit at a slower pace.
He added that the course of Western relations with Damascus, including the American one, would continue to develop.
What about the sanctions?
The two congress members, through their post-visit meetings, confirmed that the decision to lift sanctions against Syria is in the hands of President Trump.
Stutzman told the Israeli newspaper that the Syrian president, al-Sharaa, does not seek funds from the United States; he only needs the lifting of sanctions, and the US congress member believes that this matter “deserves consideration.”
During Stutzman’s visit to Sednaya Prison, he stated in a press conference attended by Enab Baladi that “lifting sanctions would be a significant economic boost, but the decision ultimately rests with President Donald Trump.”
Congressman Mills linked the lifting of sanctions to criteria ensuring that Syria does not become an instrument of the Iranian regime and that Washington has the ability to execute operations in the region, in addition to halting “persecution” based on gender, religious beliefs, and social status, according to his statement.
US Congress member Mills pledged to share his observations in Syria with his colleagues and the president, encouraging them to visit to see the changes taking place, as he expressed.
On his part, researcher Alwan noted that the two congress members are part of the American decision-making process, emphasizing that the importance lies in the messages conveyed from Washington to Damascus and vice versa, which Alwan believes will be positive.
What are Washington’s messages?
The visits by the congress members coincided with Washington’s presentation of eight conditions for building trust with Damascus and easing the sanctions.
The two members, through their interviews, pointed to a discussion held with al-Sharaa regarding the files included in the eight conditions, but they did not confirm the transfer of a direct response from Damascus to Washington.
Eight conditions set by Washington for Syria in exchange for “building trust” and easing US sanctions:
Formation of a professional army and not appointing foreign fighters in sensitive leadership positions. Access to all chemical weapons facilities and its related program. Formation of a committee for missing Americans, including journalist Austin Tice. Repatriation of families of Islamic State members from the al-Hol camp under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northeastern Syria. A public commitment to cooperate with the International Coalition in combating the Islamic State. Allowing the United States to conduct counter-terrorism operations on Syrian territory against anyone Washington deems a threat to national security. Issuing a general public declaration prohibiting all Palestinian organizations and political activities in Syria and expelling their members to ease Israeli concerns. Preventing Iran’s entrenchment and classifying both the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Hezbollah as terrorist organizations.How did Damascus respond?
According to Reuters, Damascus responded to most of the American conditions, although it did not mention how the message was conveyed, but stated that it was received on April 14.
The agency stated that the Syrian foreign minister will discuss its contents with the US administration during his visit to New York.
The message included responses to five demands, while other demands remained “pending” for discussion, with highlights including:
Commitments regarding the establishment of an office for communication to find the missing American journalist Austin Tice. Detailing Damascus’s efforts in dealing with chemical weapons stockpiles. Not tolerating any threats to American or Western interests in Syria. Formation of a committee to monitor the activities of Palestinian factions, and not allowing armed factions outside state control to operate. Continuous communication between Syrian counter-terrorism authorities and US representatives in Amman regarding combating the Islamic State.Meanwhile, discussions on issues such as foreign fighters and the execution of US strikes in Syria remained pending for further discussion, and the agency did not mention the point of Damascus managing the camps in northeastern Syria housing the families and fighters of the Islamic State group.
US Congressman Marlin Stutzman at the Sednaya Prison in Damascus – April 19, 2025 (Enab Baladi/Anas al-Khouli)
“Damascus is not confused by the conditions”
Researcher Alwan believes that Damascus is not overly confused by the American conditions since, in general, they align with the Syrian approach.
The Syrian approach, according to Alwan, is to transition Syria from a state that is a hub for transferring issues and provoking conflicts at the regional level to a state that is a hub for security and stability.
He added that there is a significant agreement on several conditions, noting that some are claims that the Syrian leadership has previously discussed with the United States, expecting to reach cooperative formulas.
US congressmen pave the way to Damascus Enab Baladi.
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