WASHINGTON (TNND) — President Trump signed an Executive Order Monday ending the Syria sanctions program in what the administration describes as a way to support the country's path to peace and stability.

Trump's order will remove sanctions on Syria while keeping sanctions on the following entities: Bashar al-Assad, his associates, human rights abusers, drug traffickers, persons linked to chemical weapons activities, ISIS or its affiliates, and Iranian proxies.

The U.S. granted Syria exemptions from sanctions in May, when Trump met with Syria’s interim leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa and told him that he would lift sanctions and explore normalizing relations in a major policy shift between the two nations.

During his visit to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Trump stated, "I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness."

In Syria, they’ve had their share of travesty, war, and killing for many years. That’s why my administration has already taken the first steps toward restoring normal relations between the United States and Syria for the first time in more than a decade," he said.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt spoke on the order with the press Monday afternoon.

This is in an effort to promote and support the country's path to stability and peace," Leavitt said. "He is committed to supporting a Syria that is stable, unified, and at peace with itself and its neighbors."

Trump had previously called the sanctions brutal and crippling and said while they once served an importanty function, it was Syria's "time to shine."

State Department Tammy Bruce told the press Monday that the order reaffirms the president's belief that Syrians deserve "a future of safety and prosperity."

The European Union has also lifted nearly all of its remaining sanctions on Syria.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.