US President Trump speaks to the media at the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, Washington, DC, April 21, 2025. Photo: Andrew Leyden/ZUMA Press Wire via Reuters Connect

President Donald Trump said on Monday that he may ease US sanctions on Syria in response to a query from his Turkish counterpart.

Syria has struggled to implement conditions set out by Washington for relief from US sanctions, which keep the country cut off from the global financial system and make economic recovery extremely challenging after 14 years of grinding war.

“We may take them off of Syria, because we want to give them a fresh start,” Trump told reporters.

He said he had been asked about Syria sanctions by Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“Many people have asked me about that, because the way we have them sanctioned, it doesn’t really give them much of a start. So, we want to see we can help them out,” Trump said.