The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Jim Risch, announced Wednesday that President Donald Trump has informed Congress of his intention to remove Syria from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Risch called it 'welcome news,' saying in a post on X: 'I hope this historic decision will help give Syrians a chance to recover, prosper, and finally move beyond the era of repression under Assad.'

Earlier Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the United States has begun the process of removing Syria from the list of state sponsors of terrorism, a designation that dates back decades, in a new show of support from Washington for the transitional phase led by President Ahmad al-Shara.

Rubio formally notified Congress of the start of this process, with the removal taking effect within 45 days unless lawmakers object, which is unlikely.

The announcement came on the day Trump met with al-Shara on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Turkey, to which the Syrian president was invited.

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Since coming to power in December 2024, al-Shara has worked to restore relations with the United States, after years of estrangement with the Assad regime.

Rubio said in a statement: 'This is another historic step by President Trump to give the Syrian people a chance to achieve greatness. Lifting sanctions on Syria will open the door to international trade and investment, give Syria a chance to rebuild, and open a new chapter for the Syrian people.'

The U.S. openness to al-Shara comes despite Israeli concerns about the new government in Syria following the ouster of Bashar al-Assad in late 2024.

Since then, Israel has launched hundreds of airstrikes on Syria, and expanded its forces in the south of the country to Mount Hermon, and beyond the buffer zone in the Golan.

In his remarks, Trump urged the new authorities in Syria to achieve peace with Israel, noting that the two countries have held talks mediated by the U.S., resulting in limited understandings on a joint coordination mechanism, without moving toward a broader agreement.

Syria is seeking economic support for reconstruction, after years of devastating war that led to the rise of ISIS and caused a major refugee crisis.

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