Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) said President Donald Trump‘s foreign policy is resonating in the Middle East after the senator spent last week meeting with leaders in the region.
Lankford, who returned from Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, and Israel, told reporters Tuesday that leaders of these countries are “exceptionally grateful” for Trump recently dropping sanctions on Syria. Sen. Angus King (I-ME) also joined Lankford for much of the trip.
“Every single leader in every place that we went to said, thank you to President Trump for how he’s handling negotiations in the area,” Lankford told the Washington Examiner. “Every single one of them.”
The foreign leaders spoke with the senators about their hopes for Syria moving forward and touted the administration for its work.
“I would tell you leadership with the Iraqis, the Kurdish Regional Government, the leadership in Beirut, the leadership in Amman, and the leadership in Israel all wanted a functioning Syria,” Lankford added.
Last month, Trump traveled to the Middle East, where he was given a warm welcome and announced the United States would be dropping sanctions against Syria.
“I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness,” Trump said, adding that the sanctions were “brutal” and “crippling” but “now it’s their time to shine.”
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He added, “I say good luck, Syria. Show us something very special, like they’ve done in Saudi Arabia.”
Trump met with Syrian President Ahmed al Sharaa, marking the first time in 25 years that the presidents of the two countries met. However, Lankford didn’t visit Syria during his trip.
