Turkey intends to fully reopen its Akcakale border crossing with Syria on May 12 for the first time since the start of Syria's civil war in 2011, The New Arab reported the same day, citing officials. Meanwhile, the European Council terminated the suspension of an economic trade agreement with Syria on May 11, abolishing most duties on imports of industrial products from Syria.

Syria's borders are largely normalized now after years of interruptions, with Iraq reopening crossings after the defeat of the Islamic State in 2019 and Jordan doing so shortly after the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al Assad in 2024. Turkey had remained hesitant to reopen borders to civilian traffic for fear of encouraging smuggling to the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces, but with the SDF largely integrated into the Syrian government's security forces and an independent Kurdish state no longer viable, Ankara has been encouraged to normalize its borders with Damascus. Meanwhile, the European Union, eager to return Syrian refugees to their country of origin, began lifting sanctions in May 2025 and has now completed the process. The United States also suspended its sanctions on Syria in May 2025, though it can snap back sanctions if the new Syrian government fails to meet certain human rights and foreign policy criteria.