唐纳德·特朗普总统周一解除了美国对叙利亚，签署了一项行政命令，以履行他在5月份做出的承诺。
白宫新闻秘书卡罗琳·莱维特在签署前告诉记者，特朗普的行动旨在“促进和支持该国走向稳定与和平。”
特朗普上个月会见叙利亚新总统艾哈迈德·沙雷(Ahmad al-Sharaa)时宣布，他将解除美国对叙利亚的严厉制裁，并敦促沙雷满足特定条件，希望这将稳定该国。
这些条件包括与叙利亚邻国关系正常化，包括以色列，以及美国.
艾哈迈德·沙拉是前基地组织叛乱分子，曾在伊拉克与美军作战，并在臭名昭著的阿布格莱布监狱服刑
预览了总统终止叙利亚制裁计划的行动的特朗普政府高级官员表示，这将拆除行政部门建立的计划架构，同时保留针对巴沙尔·阿萨德(Bashar Al Assad)、他的合作者和其他仍在该地区活动的不稳定势力的条款。
美国驻土耳其大使和政府的叙利亚问题特使汤姆·巴拉克(Tom Barrack)将这项行政命令视为总统“给这些人一个机会”的举措，指的是叙利亚临时政府。这项行政命令旨在与美国5月份发布的大幅放松制裁的普遍豁免相配合。
“你有一位将军，他从战时过渡到一个重建的新国家的领导人，这个国家需要一切，这基本上就是所发生的事情，但愿景和执行受到了我们实施制裁的限制，”他说。“叙利亚需要一个机会，这就是发生的事情。”
巴拉克还表示，推动特朗普的目的不是对新成立的政府施加影响。
“但有一点是清楚的，无论是总统还是国务卿都不是在建设国家。他们不是命令，也不是要求。他们没有给出民主模式的框架，这种框架需要根据他们的架构或愿望来实现。他们说我们会给你一个机会。我们有一系列标准，我们希望在前进的道路上观察，”他说，指的是亚伯拉罕协议，将外国战士融入叙利亚社会，保护与“伊斯兰国”作战的美国盟友，以及其他问题。
财政部负责恐怖主义和金融情报的代理副部长布拉德·史密斯谈到了该命令的更多技术方面，并强调它将允许政府“在适当的情况下”保留限制。
“这一时刻的重要性不能被夸大，”史密斯说。“虽然我们对国家的未来和新政府充满希望，但我们也清楚地看到，对和平的威胁仍然存在，美国将在我们的利益和安全受到威胁时保持警惕，财政部将毫不犹豫地使用我们的权力来保护美国和国际金融系统。
亚伯拉罕协议
一名高级政府官员坚称，特朗普政府无意保持对叙利亚当局的“影响力”，因为它试图鼓励其领导层签署亚伯拉罕协议。
“杠杆不是我们感兴趣的事情。总统无条件地取消了制裁，”他们说。"偏向以色列对叙利亚有利。"
这位高级政府官员继续指出，据报道，叙利亚和以色列一直在“秘密渠道”进行对话
“因此，吸引他们签署《亚伯拉罕协议》的方法是，在经济、文明、和平与繁荣的基础上，使协议富有成效，而这一切都将实现。而以色列和伊朗之间发生的事情给了这个机会，”这位官员说。“所以我们对利用它们做任何事情都不感兴趣。”
尽管周一采取了行动，此前暂停了对叙利亚的许多制裁，但一名高级政府官员承认，国会可能会采取进一步行动，永久取消制裁。
这位官员说，“根据行政命令，我们现在将研究《凯撒法案》的暂停标准。”
2019年《凯撒叙利亚平民保护法》加强了对在叙利亚政府中从事重大交易的任何外国实体的制裁。国务卿马尔科·卢比奥早在5月份就发布了为期180天的凯撒法案制裁豁免令。
“最终，国会有权废除该法案，”该官员周一表示。
Trump signs executive order lifting sanctions on Syria
President Donald Trump on Monday lifted U.S. sanctions onSyria, signing an executive order to carry out a promise he made in May.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters ahead of the signing that Trump's action was designed to "promote and support the country's path to stability and peace."
When he met with Syria's new president Ahmad al-Sharaa last month, Trump announced he would lift the crippling U.S. sanctions against Syria and urged al-Sharaa to meet specified conditions in hopes that it will stabilize the country.
Those conditions included normalizing relations with Syria's neighbors, includingIsrael, as well as theUnited States.
Ahmad al-Sharaa is a former al-Qaeda insurgent who fought against U.S. forces in Iraq and served time in the infamous Abu Ghraib priso
Senior Trump administration officials who previewed the president's action terminating the Syria sanctions program said it would dismantle the architecture of the program established by the executive branch while maintaining provisions targeted at Bashar Al Assad, his collaborators, and other destabilizing forces still at work in the region.
U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and the administration's Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack cast the executive order -- which is intended to work in tandem with the general waiver significantly easing sanctions that was issued by the U.S. in May -- as a move by the president to "give these guys a chance," referring to Syria's interim government.
"You have a general who transitioned from wartime into a position of being the leader of a reframed new country that needs everything, and that's basically what's happened, but the vision and the execution was limited by our imposition of sanctions," he said. "Syria needs to be given a chance, and that's what's happened."
Barrack also said the purpose driving Trump was not to hold leverage over the newly-formed government.
"But one thing is clear, neither the president or the secretary of state is nation building. They're not dictating, they're not requiring. They're not giving the framework of the democratic model that needs to be implemented to their architecture or desire. They're saying we are going to give you an opportunity. We have a bunch of criteria that we want to watch along the way," he said, referencing the Abraham Accords, integrating foreign fighters in Syrian society, protecting U.S. allies who fought against ISIS, and other issues.
Brad Smith, the acting under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence at the Treasury Department, spoke about the more technical aspects of the order and emphasized that it would allow the administration to retain restrictions "where appropriate."
"The significance of this moment cannot be overstated," Smith said. "While we remain hopeful for the country's future and its new government, we are also clear eyed that threats to peace remain, the United States will remain ever vigilant where our interests and security are threatened, and Treasury will not hesitate to use our authorities to protect us and international financial systems.
Abraham Accords
A senior administration official insisted that the Trump administration wasn't looking to maintain "leverage" over Syrian authorities as it seeks to encourage its leadership to sign onto the Abraham Accords.
"Leverage is not what we're interested in doing. The president ripped the sanctions off without any conditions," they said. "It's to Syria's benefit to lean towards Israel."
The senior administration official continued to note that it has been reported that Syria and Israel have been having conversations "on a backchannel basis."
"So the way to entice them to get to the Abraham accords is to make it fruitful for them on an economic basis, on a on a civilization basis, on a peace and prosperity basis, and that's all coming together. And what's happened between Israel and Iran gives that window," the official said. "So we're not interested in leveraging them into anything."
Despite the action Monday and previous suspension of many sanctions against Syria, a senior administration official acknowledged that it may take further action from Congress to permanently lift the penalties.
"We are now -- pursuant to the executive order -- going to look at suspension criteria for the Caesar Act," the official said.
The Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019 enhanced sanctions on any foreign entity that engaged in significant transactions in the Syrian government. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, back in May, issued a 180-day waiver of the Caesar Act sanctions.
"Ultimately Congress has the power to repeal the act," the official said on Monday.
