ISTANBUL

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa warned that slowing down or blocking the lifting of sanctions on Syria amounts to complicity in the killing of the Syrian people.

"I believe the world must not be complicit again in the killing of the Syrian people by slowing down or preventing the lifting of sanctions and preventing them from reconstructing their nations," al-Sharaa said in an interview with CBS published Sunday.

"Anybody who stands against the lifting of sanctions would be complicit in killing the Syrian people once again."

When asked about critics who describe him as changing to meet situational needs, al-Sharaa defended his administration's record.

"Today, we have really saved the people from the oppression that was being thrust on them by the criminal regime," he said, adding they restored hope for refugees and internally displaced people.

He said Syria confronted ISIS (Daesh), expelled Iranian militias and Hezbollah, and supported chemical weapons victims – roles he said should have belonged to the international community.

"The international community was unable to free a single prisoner or break the siege on a single town where people were starving to death," al-Sharaa said.

US relations

Al-Sharaa is in the US to attend the 80th UN General Assembly session, making him the first Syrian president to address the UN since 1967. The assembly runs through Sept. 29.

He praised US President Donald Trump's decision to lift sanctions, calling it "quick, courageous and historic."

"We need to discuss a great many issues and mutual interests between Syria and the USA," he said, expressing willingness to meet Trump again to "restore relations in a good and direct way."

Trump lifted broad US sanctions on Syria in July 2025, following their May meeting in Riyadh.

The US Treasury Department announced in August that American companies could resume business with Damascus.

Bashar al-Assad, Syria's leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia last December, ending the Ba'ath Party regime, which had been in power since 1963. A new transitional administration led by Sharaa was formed in January.

Since Assad’s ouster, Syria's new administration has pursued political and economic reforms while promoting social cohesion and working to expand cooperation with regional and international partners.