[Anchor]
President Trump of the United States, who is on a tour in the Middle East, has announced the lifting of sanctions against Syria.
While urging dialogue with Iran stating there are no eternal enemies, he firmly stated that they must not possess nuclear weapons.
This is Kim Kyung-soo reporting from Washington.
[Report]
For his first official trip in his second term, President Trump of the United States has chosen the Middle East and announced the normalization of relations with Syria.
At an investment forum held in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, President Trump declared that all sanctions against Syria would be lifted.
[Donald Trump/US President: “I will order the suspension of sanctions against Syria to give it an opportunity for development.”]
The United States severed diplomatic ties with Syria in 2012 during the Syrian civil war.
Furthermore, the US and other Western nations have imposed sanctions on the Assad dictatorship for reasons such as human rights violations, but the transitional government, established after the collapse of the Assad regime, has been demanding the lifting of those sanctions.
Syrian Foreign Minister Alshaybani expressed a welcome response, stating that the US decision has opened a new chapter towards the future for the Syrian people.
Regarding Iran, President Trump stated that he does not believe in eternal enemies and hopes for negotiations.
However, he took a firm stance concerning nuclear weapons.
[Donald Trump/US President: “If the Iranian leadership refuses this olive branch (proposal for dialogue) and continues to attack neighboring countries, we will have no choice but to put maximum pressure on Iran and bring their oil exports to zero.”]
Meanwhile, President Trump emphasized that he has signed a strategic economic partnership agreement with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, adding that “the visit to Saudi Arabia has resulted in an additional $1 trillion in investments in the United States.”
Trump particularly publicly urged Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords, which is a normalization agreement between Israel and Middle Eastern countries, reaffirming his commitment to normalizing relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, a long-held endeavor of his.
This is Kim Kyung-soo from KBS News in Washington.
Camera: Park Jun-seok / Editing: Kim Shin-hyung / Research: Park Eun-jin, Moon Soo-bin
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