WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Tom Barrack, the U.S. ambassador to Turkey, said on Friday he has assumed the role of special envoy to Syria, as the Trump administration moves to lift sanctions on the country.
Barrack said in a post on X that he would support U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in removing U.S. sanctions on Syria after President Donald Trump made a landmark announcement earlier this month that Washington would unwind the measures.
“As President Trump’s representative in Türkiye, I am proud to assume the role of the U.S. Special Envoy for Syria and support Secretary Rubio in the realization of the President’s vision,” Barrack said.
Barrack is a private equity executive who has long advised Trump and chaired his inaugural presidential committee in 2016.
Reuters reported earlier this week the U.S. planned to appoint him as special envoy.
The move suggests U.S. acknowledgement that Turkey has emerged with key regional influence on Damascus since rebels ousted Syria’s former president Bashar al-Assad in December, ending 14 years of civil war.
Trump met with Syria’s interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia on May 14 and urged him to normalise ties with longtime foe Israel.
Barrack attended a U.S.-Turkish meeting focused on Syria that was held in Washington on Tuesday, where sanctions relief and efforts to counter terrorism were discussed.
Removing U.S. sanctions would clear the way for greater engagement by humanitarian organisations working in Syria, and ease foreign investment and trade as the country tries to rebuild.
“The cessation of sanctions against Syria will preserve the integrity of our primary objective – the enduring defeat of ISIS – and will give the people of Syria a chance for a better future,” Barrack said in the post on X.
ISIS refers to the Islamic State militant organisation.
(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and Jasper Ward; Editing by Caitlin Webber and Nia Williams)
