The US Senate voted Thursday to repeal the Caesar Act sanctions on Syria, in a landmark decision hailed by Damascus as a “historic moment."

Republican Senator Joe Wilson announced the repeal on X, expressing gratitude to his colleagues for incorporating the measure into the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2026. Wilson argued that the punitive measures had targeted a regime that “no longer exists,” adding that Syria’s recovery now depends on a “full and total repeal.”

The Senate approved the 2026 defense programs and policy bill on Thursday, with the legislation including an article calling for the unconditional repeal of the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act.

Syrian officials on Friday welcomed the move, describing it as a turning point in the country’s efforts to recover from more than a decade of conflict and economic hardship.

Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani called the decision “a step that restores Syria's first breath and opens before it a new path toward construction and recovery,” adding that it would help “restore the dignity of the Syrian person along with their right to build their land and create their future, and state institutions regain their pulse to rise and flourish.”

Al-Shaibani credited the achievement to “President Ahmed al-Sharaa, and with the determination of my team at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we worked to lift one of the heaviest burdens that shackled our nation economically and politically.”

Finance Minister Mohammed Yisr Barnieh echoed the sentiment, saying that “Syrian diplomacy succeeded in getting rid of the last and most severe US sanctions imposed on Syria,” and that “the sanctions are behind us, God willing, and we have no path but towards reconstruction, reform, and development.”

Information Minister Hamza al-Mustafa described the repeal as “a historic moment for the new Syria and the struggles of its people with the US Senate vote to repeal the Caesar Act,” attributing the breakthrough to “active Syrian diplomacy and the efforts of many loyal Syrians among the diaspora community in the United States.”

“A major obstacle has been removed on the long path toward development, prosperity, and stability,” Mustafa added.

Enacted in 2019, the Caesar Act had imposed sweeping sanctions on the Syrian government and anyone conducting business with it, effectively isolating Damascus from the global financial system. The law was introduced under the deposed Baathist regime of Bashar al-Assad and became one of the most stringent economic measures ever levied against the country.

According to Finance Minister Barnieh, the Senate-approved bill also contains a clause calling for the reopening of the US embassy in Damascus “to strengthen diplomatic relations between the two countries.”

The legislation will now move to the House of Representatives before being sent to President Donald Trump for his signature by the end of the year.