US lawmakers are eyeing a permanent removal of sanctions on Syria before the end of the year, with plans to attach it to must-pass legislation.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H. and Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., met with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa on a Middle East swing that also included stops in Jordan and Lebanon.
Shaheen said the new government’s “No. 1 ask” was for permanent repeal of Caesar Act sanctions to open Syria to more investment. She hopes to add that to the State Department’s authorizing legislation, then hitch it to the National Defense Authorization Act this fall, she told reporters.
Wilson said sanctions legislation recently advanced in the House is “90% what we want.” Notably absent from their itinerary: Israel. Shaheen, who said she was “appalled” by the recent Gaza bombing, said she didn’t have time to make the stop.