By FATIMA HUSSEIN and MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order on Monday ending U.S. sanctions on Syria, following through on his earlier promise to do so.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the move was designed to “promote and support the country’s path to stability and peace.” Sanctions will remain in place on former President Bashar Assad, his associates and others, she said.

The U.S. granted Syria sweeping exemptions from sanctions in May, which was a first step toward fulfilling the Republican president’s pledge to lift a half-century of penalties on a country shattered by 13 years of civil war.

Trump met with Syria’s interim leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, in Saudi Arabia in May and told Al-Sharaa that he would lift sanctions and explore normalizing relations in a major policy shift between the U.S. and Syria.

“This is another promise made and promise kept,” Leavitt said Monday.

The European Union has also followed through with lifting nearly all remaining sanctions on Syria.