Syria has been on the US list of state sponsors of terrorism since the list was created in 1979, but is now the last of the original parties on the list to be removed (more recently added parties Cuba, Iran and North Korea remain on the list).
This has been a major goal of the Syrian transitional government as that designation impedes investment due to sanctions applied with it and also restricts foreign aid and weapons deals. The article details that Syria has been working with banks such as Mastercard to enable the infrastructure to allow for international payments in Syria.
Another feather in the cap for the Syrian government this week was the announcement by the leader of the Syrian Democratic Forces of “the end of the mission of the Syrian Democratic Forces” and “its dissolution as an independent military force” as part of the agreed plan to integrate the forces.
However, challenges recently arose as well. Israeli airstrikes rocked an airbase in northwestern Syria last week under the justification of preventing Turkey from deploying forces to the base. This week the defense minister of Israel, Israel Katz, ascended Israeli-occupied Mount Hermon and proclaimed that Israel “will not move from Mount Hermon and the security zone as long as there are jihadist threats to the State of Israel.” Hikmat al-Hijri, a leader of the faith for Syrian Druze and the head of the National Guard militia that has clashed with the government and de facto controls much of Suwayda, gave a speech thanking Israel and stating that the Druze are an integral part of Israel with the same faith and ideology.