US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to lift unilateral sanctions on Syria. It does not apply to the country's former leader Bashar Assad and those associated with him.
As stated in the document published by the White House press service, the restrictions will be lifted from July 1, and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been ordered to ensure, if possible, that sanctions against Damascus are also lifted within the framework of the UN. In addition, the head of the US State Department was ordered to consider the possibility of removing Syria from the US list of countries sponsoring terrorism, as well as to study the advisability of keeping the group "Hayat Tahrir al-Sham" and its leader Ahmed al-Sharaa on the US blacklist.
Trump instructed his cabinet to take "additional steps" to hold accountable those from the former Syrian government who, according to Washington, are guilty of war crimes, human rights violations and drug trafficking. The decree allows for punishments for those who, according to the US administration, have provided various types of support to the Assad government.
The US president has ordered his administration to effectively tighten US policy towards Cuba. This is evidenced by the text of Trump's memorandum, sent on Monday to members of the presidential cabinet and published by the White House press service.
The document provides for “ending the use of economic practices that disproportionately benefit the government of Cuba“, as well as the armed forces and security services of this island country. The memorandum confirms the ban on US citizens from making tourist trips to Cuba. Trump's orders provide for “supporting the economic embargo against Cuba“ and opposing measures to eliminate it “in the United Nations and other international forums“.
The US Treasury and Commerce Secretaries have 30 days to prepare concrete steps to implement the President's instructions. The Secretary of State was ordered to compile a list of Cuban entities that allegedly receive disproportionate benefits from economic interaction with the United States.
The memorandum also states that the US government considers not only Cuba's political leadership, but also union leaders, editors-in-chief of state media and their deputies, as sanctioned individuals.
Negotiations between the United States and China regarding the social network TikTok continue at the highest level, White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt said at a regular briefing for journalists.
“India remains a strategic ally in the Asia-Pacific region, and the president has a very good relationship with Prime Minister Modi, and that will continue,“ she said.