I'm no Trump fan, but he's done the right thing in Syria. Britain should follow his lead

Telegraph

16-05-2025

Amongst all the noise and activity in the Middle East this week with President Trump's arrival, there's one thing in particular that stands out. For me, as somebody who has been in and out of Syria for the last 12 years, Trump's meeting with Ahmed Al Shaara, the new Syrian president, was of huge importance.
There are many criticisms to be made of the new US president, and I've made plenty of them, but in this instance he was spot on. By lifting sanctions and telling the Syrians and Israelis they must sort out a way to co-exist, Trump did exactly the right things. And this could be a time window in which an Israeli-Syrian accord might be forged: on my recent visit to Damascus, I was struck by the fact that most of the new Syrian government freely acknowledged that the Israelis' decapitation of the Iranian proxy Hezbollah was a major factor in the fall of the Assad regime. Hezbollah gunmen were one of the most important things keeping the old regime in power, and the Israelis' effective action against them helped to end decades of murderous oppression in Syria.
The end of sanctions is vital, too. When I travelled around Syria a few months ago with members of the hugely influential British Syrian diaspora, visiting hospitals and local businesses, the universal ask from everyone was 'lift the sanctions'. In the main hospital in Homs, most of the MRI machines sat silent because sanctions left them without parts and maintenance schedules. The UK government did lift some sanctions early on, but the cuts to the foreign aid budgets in the UK and US means that little in material terms has been done to get this country back on its feet thus far.
Much has been made of the new Syrian president's jihadist past, and those few of us who ventured into Idlib during the years when Assad and Al Nusra fought each other for control of the province ran the risk of being killed by either. But despite that, I believe the British government, and others who would rather not, should bury the hatchet with the new Syrian government as Trump has done.
The single most important thing that Sir Keir Starmer can do to help Syria develop into a secular and democratic country – that's what the majority want, and Al Shaara wants, and I would argue we want – is to open the British Embassy in Damascus ASAP. I lobbied members of the House of Commons and the Foreign office on this when I returned from Syria and was told of problems with lack of finance, health and safety and risk assessments! These problems must be overcome. We might not have much in the way of 'hard power' these days, but we can still put on a good show when it comes to 'soft power', and we must do that when we have a chance like this. A few million spent on soft power today could avoid billions on hard power tomorrow.
Aside from the British government, the importance of the British Syrian diaspora cannot be overstated. I worked with them for a few years in Idlib and travelled with them to Syria this last time. It is these people who helped keep the medical system going in Idlib for years, and they are now helping to roll it out across Syria. It was these people and British money which helped set up the White Helmets who are now delivering emergency services across the country. It is businessmen in this group who are advising on how to rebuild Syria.
Again, the window is open and Syria, for now, is safe. It must be kept that way. Yes, there have been some flare-ups with the Alawite and Druze communities, but in the greater scheme of things, and compared to what has gone on before, this is fairly minor.
Let's face it, if the likes of me – a former British Army officer with Middle East combat experience – are prepared to give the new president a chance then so should the British Government and get that embassy open. If they cannot find an ambassador and staff to run it because of health and safety concerns, I'll do it and put together a team no doubt full of those very able and willing British Syrians. This is too good an opportunity to miss by getting bogged down in risk assessments.