The new Syrian president courted the White House with multiple offers, including a proposal to build a Trump Tower in his country’s capital, in an effort to diffuse tensions between the U.S. and Damascus.

An end to U.S. sanctions on Syria is expected to mark a new era for an economy devastated by 13 years of war, opening the way for investment flows from the Syrian diaspora, Turkey, and Gulf states that back the new government.

P resident Donald Trump announced on Tuesday, May 13, that he plans to end the U.S. sanctions imposed on Syria, which have been in place for over 45 years. Announcing the news on the first day of his Middle East tour, during the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum, Trump said he would be lifting sanctions “in order to give them [Syria] greatness.”

President Donald Trump’s announcement that the U.S. will ease sanctions on Syria could eventually facilitate the country’s recovery from years of civil war and transform the lives of everyday Syrians.

Five months after its liberation from the police state of Bashar al-Assad, Syria sometimes looks like a country in civil war. Sectarian clashes have turned into street battles with rockets and mortars.

Syrian Finance Minister Yisr Barnieh made a call to global investors on Wednesday to come do business with Syria after U.S. President Donald Trump's surprise announcement that he would lift all of Washington's sanctions on the country.

President Trump announces a significant policy shift by lifting sanctions on Syria, influenced by Saudi Arabia's crown prince.

Fireworks erupted and hundreds of cars sounded their horns as crowds thronged the symbolic Umayyad Square in Damascus in the hours after Donald Trump made a shock announcement that he would drop sanctions on Syria “to give them a chance at greatness.”