US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that he would order the lifting of sanctions on Syria at the behest of Saudi Arabia's crown prince, a major policy shift from Washington. 

"I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness," Trump told an investment forum in Riyadh, at the start of a tour of Gulf Arab states. "It's their time to shine. We're taking them all off," Trump said, "Good luck Syria, show us something very special."

Trump said he made the decision after discussions with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, whose governments have both strongly urged the lifting of sanctions.

Meanwhile, Trump met with Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia and urged him to normalise ties with longtime foe Israel. According to the White House, Trump urged Sharaa to join the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco, which normalised relations with Israel under the US-brokered Abraham Accords in 2020. "I told him, 'I hope you’re going to join when it’s straightened out.’ He said, ‘Yes.’ But they have a lot of work to do," Trump said, according to a White House pool report.

Trump's decision to remove sanctions on Syria that cut off the country from the global financial system will clear the way for greater engagement by humanitarian organisations in Damascus, easing foreign investment and trade as the country rebuilds.

The surprise move came despite deep Israeli suspicion of Sharaa's administration, worries initially shared by some US officials. Israeli officials have continued to describe Sharaa as a jihadist, though he severed ties with al Qaeda in 2016. Israel's government did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Trump said he would remove all sanctions, saying they had served an important function, but it was time for Syria to move forward. He said steps were being taken to restore normal relations with Syria, and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio would meet his Syrian counterpart this week.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani, in a statement to Reuters, said it marked a turning point for the Syrian people in their efforts to rebuild. "We ... stand ready to foster a relationship with the United States that is rooted in mutual respect, trust and shared interests," Shibani said. He also said Trump could get a "historic peace deal and victory for US interests in Syria," without elaborating.

Joseph Aoun, president of neighbouring Lebanon, hailed Trump's "bold move" as another step on Syria's path towards recovery and stability.

Alex Zerden, a senior fellow at the Centre for a New American Security, said Trump's announcement would unwind a "Gordian knot" of sanctions, export controls and terrorist designations that had made Syria one of the most economically restricted countries, along with Iran, North Korea and Cuba.

Under Assad, Syria remained in a state of war with neighbouring Israel, had close ties to Iran and Russia and turbulent relations with the West. Since December, Israel's military has occupied Syrian territory near the Golan Heights, which Israel has occupied since 1967, while also carrying out regular airstrikes in the country.

Syrian officials have meanwhile signalled their openness to a detente and even eventual peace with Israel. The decision is a major boost for Sharaa, who has been struggling to bring the country under the control of the Damascus government. 

Sharaa was for years the leader of al Qaeda's official wing in the Syrian conflict. He first joined al-Qaeda in Iraq, where he spent five years in a US prison. The United States removed a $10 million bounty on Sharaa's head in December.

UN welcomes the move

The United Nations, which has been pushing countries to lift sanctions on Syria, also welcomed the move. "It was important for us to see relief on sanctions on Syria to help the reconstruction of Syria, to help the Syrian people recover from more than a decade of conflict, a decade of under investment," said UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.

Formerly known as Nusra Front, the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham was al Qaeda's official wing in Syria until breaking ties in 2016. HTS was officially dissolved in January. The group has been on the UN Security Council al Qaeda and Islamic State sanctions list for more than a decade, subjected to a global assets freeze and arms embargo. There are no U.N. sanctions on Syria over the civil war.