The Trump administration is torn over how to respond to Russia’s military presence in Syria and whether to ask the new transitional government to oust Russian forces from a naval and air base in the country. U.S. sanctions on Syria provide Washington with enormous leverage to influence the new government headed by Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former U.S.-designated terrorist who led the overthrow of longtime dictator Bashar Assad. Last month, Trump officials provided al-Sharaa’s representatives with a list of conditions for eventual sanctions relief. But ousting Russia’s military presence in the country was not included, according to two people familiar with the situation.  “There’s a huge internal debate within the administration about what position to take on the Russian base,” said one person familiar with the matter. “This was debated within the State Department and White House, there was a push by some in the administration to remove the Russian base.” The person added that ousting Russian forces is currently “not being demanded of the Syrians to remove sanctions.” Russia's involvement in Syria is another potential flashpoint as Trump tries to bring Moscow to the table on a ceasefire with Ukraine.  In a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 18 about Ukraine, Trump spoke broadly about the Middle East “as a region of potential cooperation to prevent future conflicts.”  But Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with Putin over his refusal to halt fighting with Kyiv, and threatened sanctions. Russia hawks in Congress say the removal of Russian military assets in Syria is an easy ask of al-Sharaa that would deliver major geopolitical wins for the U.S. in the region. “I’m hopeful that every effort is going to be made to remove the Russian navy base of Tartus and equally to remove the air base that the Russians have in Syria,” Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) told The Hill.  Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, took a more cautious tack, saying Damascus’s turn away from Russia and its partners — China, Iran and North Korea — would benefit the U.S. "If we want it and they want it, we ought to try to make it happen," he said. Risch said he's still in a "wait and see" mode with whether the new authorities in Damascus are to be trusted, but said some sanctions relief is possible.  “I think what we should do, is do some suspension of some of the sanctions — so that they can start rebuilding their country. I think we should give them that opportunity, but I'm still in a wait-and-see mode to see where this country is going,” he said.  Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Texas), a member of the House Select Committee on Intelligence and Armed Services Committee, called last month for Russia to be kicked out of Syria.  “If we want lasting peace in Ukraine, we can't allow Russia to capitalize on the chaos in Syria and maintain control of its airbases,” he posted on the social platform X. “Russia's presence in Syria benefits Iran's terrorist proxies, who seek to destabilize the region and undermine U.S. national security interests.” There’s little love for Russia among the Syrian people, al-Sharaa, or the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which led the insurgents who overthrew Assad. Russia’s intervention in Syria in 2015 shored up Assad’s dwindling power against the Syrian rebels, with air and ground forces carrying out widespread attacks that spurred allegations of war crimes.  “During the onslaught on Aleppo in 2015 to the end of 2016, Russia dropped tens of thousands of tons of munitions on residential areas in Syria including cluster bombs,” said Mohammed Alaa Ghanem, a Syrian Civil Society leader and human rights activist, testified in front of Congress in July.  Cluster bombs are banned by more than 100 countries because of their devastating impact, spreading multiple submunitions or bomblets over an area as large as a city block, and that can kill, maim, and also lie dormant until triggered.  “Russia has committed extensive war crimes killing thousands of Syrian civilians and obliterating hospitals, schools, mosques, marketplaces, churches and residential neighborhoods,” Ghanem said.  But Putin is reportedly reaching out to al-Sharaa and offering “practical cooperation” at a time when the government faces an overwhelming economic crisis, and ongoing international sanctions put in place against Assad.   In February, Russia delivered the equivalent of $23 million in Syrian currency at official rates to the central bank in Damascus, The Wall Street Journal reported, extending a lifeline to the new Syrian authorities in the absence of other potential donors. Europe, Arab and Gulf countries have so far held back transferring funds, wary over running afoul of U.S. sanctions.  And Russia reportedly started oil and gas shipments to Syria in an effort to maintain its military bases, according to the Moscow Times. The Syrian government is facing an acute energy crisis without the ability to develop its own oil reserves. The Assad regime relied on oil provided by Iran, which has largely been cut off with Assad’s flight and Iran’s expulsion from the country.  U.S. sanctions are “suffocating” Syria, said Aaron Zelin, a senior fellow with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.  Zelin said that even as Europe signals easing of sanctions on Syria, it’s given little confidence to investors or Arab and Gulf states to enter the country, over fear of running afoul of American restrictions.  The Biden administration in January offered a six-month reprieve on certain transactions in Syria, but advocates and analysts say more sanctions relief is needed to give the transitional government an opportunity to provide stability, while working on other U.S. priorities, like eliminating Assad’s chemical weapons stockpiles, ramping up counterterrorism cooperation, preventing a resurgence of ISIS and investigating the disappearance of American Austin Tice.  “To ensure that Syria is stable, peaceful, and free of Iran and other adversaries, the Trump administration must lift sanctions ASAP,” said Mouaz Moustafa, executive director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force, and who has led multiple international and religious delegations to Syria testing the new government’s promises of inclusivity and openness.  “President Trump has an opportunity to make Syria an ally of the U.S., bring troops home in the right way, and keep China and Iran away from Syrian territory and natural resources by normalizing with a new free Syria.” Advocates for conditional sanctions relief say al-Sharaa and the new care-taker government, announced late last month, are positive steps that should be rewarded with targeted relief.  “I think we need to look at a tiered approach to easing sanctions, so you do certain things and we lift certain sanctions, you do certain other things, we lift certain sanctions,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “But we need to get moving because right now we don’t have a Syria policy and Russia is already moving back in, Iran is looking to move back in so, it’s important for us to send a clear message about what we expect and what we’re willing to do as a result.” Zelin, of the Washington Institute, said the new government in Damascus is an improvement to the transitional authority that al-Sharaa headed alongside HTS. While HTS officials hold high-profile portfolios like foreign policy, interior, justice and defense, minority groups like Kurds, Christians, Druze and Alawites are represented  — although there is only one woman.  “Obviously I think it's a bit disappointing that there's only one woman considering the fact that it's 23 ministries,” Zelin said. “Relatively speaking, it's definitely a better version of what they were running before." But some in the Trump administration and Republicans on Capitol Hill argue that al-Sharaa’s Salafi-jihadist past should make Washington skeptical.  “I’ve been studying Jihadi movements for 24 years, I have never seen a successful jihadi leader become a democrat or a lover of representative government,” said Sebastian Gorka, deputy assistant to the president and senior counterterrorism official on the National Security Council. “There’s only moderation if the jihadi leader loses. He didn’t lose in Damascus, he won, so let’s apply a little common sense.” “Just because a terrorist puts on a suit doesn’t mean he’s the father of the country,” said Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), a member of the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on the Middle East.  “We need to see signs that they are providing equal protection to all groups, majority and minority, and when we see that then we have the beginnings of an opportunity,” he added. “We also have to look at the outflow and inflow of refugees, because that says a lot about what the people of Syria believe about the new government.” The Hill has reached out to the National Security Council. A State Department spokesperson told The Hill that the administration is monitoring the Syrian interim authorities' actions across a number of issues as "we determine future U.S. policy for Syria," when asked about whether the shutdown of Russian bases are a condition for sanctions relief. "Ultimately, the United States wants a Syria that lives in peace with its neighbors, respects human rights, and prohibits terrorists from using its territory as a safe haven," the spokesperson said. Updated at 2:20 p.m. EDT ...read more read less