CAIRO (Reuters) – Syria’s de facto chief Ahmed al-Sharaa congratulated U.S. President Donald Trump on his inauguration in an announcement on Monday, saying he’s trying ahead to enhancing relations between the 2 nations.

“We are confident that he is the leader to bring peace to the Middle East and restore stability to the region,” he stated.

The U.S., Britain, the European Union and others imposed robust sanctions on Syria after a crackdown by ousted President Bashar al-Assad on pro-democracy protests in 2011 that spiralled into civil warfare.

In early January, Washington issued a sanctions exemption for transactions with governing establishments in Syria for six months in an effort to ease the move of humanitarian help.

Syria welcomed the transfer, however has urged a whole lifting of sanctions to help its restoration.