00:00You were, of course, ambassador to Syria at a time when President Bashar al-Assad, as he was then, looked like he wasn't going anywhere.
00:08And then today we've seen pictures of the new leader, Ahmad al-Shara, playing basketball in Washington, D.C. with U.S. officials.
00:17What went through your mind when you saw those pictures of the new president in Washington playing basketball?
00:24Well, it's amazing that Ahmad al-Shara is visiting Washington since he was on the American terrorism list for more than 10 years.
00:35The pictures of him playing basketball, I think, are a great public relations effort.
00:42I give him credit for knowing how to appeal to Americans.
00:47So he's in Washington holding these talks with President Trump.
00:51It's understood that the two men get along well.
00:55How can the United States best help Syria, do you think?
00:58I think there are two things the Americans can do.
01:00First and foremost, Syria's economy has been devastated by the civil war.
01:06And the American cancellation of sanctions that Washington imposed over the years on Syria would help encourage investment, which Syria desperately needs.
01:18Its infrastructure is heavily damaged and private investment in that infrastructure is vital, both for job creation and for rebuilding the economy more broadly.
01:30The second thing that the United States could do is to reduce tensions between the Israeli government in Jerusalem and Damascus
01:39and find a way to achieve a sort of ceasefire between Israeli forces and Syria.
01:49It's not that the Syrians are attacking the Israelis.
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