U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday froze more than $200 million in funds for recovery efforts in Syria as his administration reassesses Washington's role in the long-drawn conflict there, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing officials.
Trump called for the freeze after reading a news report noting that Washington had recently committed an additional $200 million to support early recovery efforts in Syria, the Journal reported.
The decision is in line with Trump's declaration on Thursday when he said that America would exit Syria, according to officials, the Journal reported.
An additional aid of $200 million was pledged by departing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in February in Kuwait at a meeting of the global coalition against Islamic State.
The State Department issued a statement in which it said that in line with Trump's request that all international assistance come under review, it was consistently re-evaluating "appropriate assistance levels and how best they might be utilized."
The report came a day after Trump announced that he wanted U.S. troops out of Syria "very soon."
According to the Politico news site, the decision came after the president read a news item reporting that outgoing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had committed $200 million to relief efforts at a coalition meeting held in Kuwait in February. Tillerson was fired on March 13.
