Trump to remove Syrian sanctions - peace next?

President Donald Trump is set to remove sanctions on Syria soon, with the aim of helping shepherd the country towards "stability" after over a decade of civil war, according to a statement today (Monday) by Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt:

"The President will be signing an executive order to terminate the United States sanctions program on Syria. This is in an effort to promote and support the country's path to stability and peace. The order will remove sanctions on Syria while maintaining sanctions on the former President Assad, his associates, human rights abusers, drug traffickers, persons linked to chemical weapons activities, ISIS and their affiliates, and Iranian proxies.

"And this is, again, an action that the President promised and shocked the world with in Saudi Arabia because he's committed to supporting a Syria that is stable, unified, and at peace with itself and its neighbors. The President met with Syria's new President when we were in the Middle East, as you know, and so this is another promise made and promise kept by this President to promote peace and stability in the region."

Syrian officials have repeatedly expressed an interest in peace with Israel, even willing to forgo claims on the Golan Heights in exchange for Israel removing its forces from southern Syria and ceasing any and all bombing attacks on targets in the country.