Washington:
Tom Barrack, US ambassador to Turkiye and special envoy to Syria, on Sunday slammed the 1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement that divided the Turkish empire for “imperial gain-not peace.” He said the division of Syria was a historic mistake, as he stressed that the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in the country would open the door for prosperity and security.
“A century ago, the West imposed maps, mandates, penciled borders, and foreign rule. Sykes-Picot divided Syria and the broader region for imperial gain-not peace. That mistake cost generations. We will not make it again,” Barrack wrote on X, criticising the past Western policies.
The Sykes-Picot Agreement was a secret treaty between the United Kingdom and France, with assent from Russia and Italy, to define their mutually agreed spheres of influence and control in an eventual partition of the Ottoman Empire following World War I. The pact is widely seen as the foundation for the imposition of Western influence and arbitrary borders in the Arab areas of the region, particularly in oil-rich areas.
A century ago, the West imposed maps, mandates, penciled borders, and foreign rule. Sykes-Picot divided Syria and the broader region for imperial gain—not peace. That mistake cost generations. We will not make it again.
The era of Western interference is over. The future…
— Ambassador Tom Barrack (@USAMBTurkiye) May 25, 2025
Echoing US President Donald Trump’s May 13 remarks in Riyadh, Barrack said the future of the Middle East depends on regional solutions and cooperation.
“The era of Western interference is over. The future belongs to regional solutions, but partnerships, and a diplomacy grounded in respect. As President Trump emphasized in his May 13th address in Riyadh, “Gone are the days when Western interventionalists would fly to the Middle East to give lectures on how to live, and how to govern your own affairs,” he wrote.
Barrack noted that Syria’s tragedy “was born from division,” saying its “rebirth must come through dignity, unity, and investment in its people.”
“That starts with truth, accountability-and working with the region, not around it,” he said.
The statement follows a significant change in US policy over Syria following Trump’s meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Riyadh earlier this month– the first direct encounter between US and Syrian leaders in 25 years. Before the meeting, Trump ordered the removal of “brutal and crippling” sanctions on Syria, following which US has issued general license sanctions relief. The EU has also lifted economic sanctions on Syria on Tuesday to support reconstruction efforts.
Barrack stressed that the US stands with Turkiye, the Gulf, and Europe – but “not with troops and lectures, or imaginary boundaries,” but “shoulder-to-shoulder with the Syrian people themselves.”
“With the fall of the Assad regime, the door is open to peace – by eliminating sanctions, we are enabling the Syrian people to finally open that door and discover a path to renewed prosperity and security,” he said.
The US ambassador’s statement came after he met Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa on May 24 in Istanbul– a day after assuming the role of special envoy to Syria.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday said that Washington supports efforts to help Syria’s new government succeed, warning that failure could trigger renewed conflict and regional instability.
