US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and US Special Envoy Keith Kellogg attend the Turkey-US-Ukraine trilateral talks in Istanbul, Turkey, May 16, 2025. Photo: Arda Kucukkaya/Turkish Foreign Ministry/Handout via REUTERS

Tom Barrack, the US 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 US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in removing US 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 US 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 US planned to appoint him as special envoy.

The move suggests US 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 normalize ties with longtime foe Israel.

Barrack attended a US-Turkish meeting focused on Syria that was held in Washington on Tuesday, where sanctions relief and efforts to counter terrorism were discussed.

Removing US sanctions would clear the way for greater engagement by humanitarian organizations 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 terrorist organization.