Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), the outgoing chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on Thursday that the administration should use its authority to lift U.S. sanctions on Syria should the new government, still in formation, make progress to improve the human rights situation and other violations by the former Assad regime.

“It’s too early to tell whether the incoming regime’s record will reflect a different way of doing business,” Cardin said at his last in a regular series of sit-downs with reporters before his retirement at the end of the year. “If the corrections are made, if the respect for Syrians is being adhered to as in the language we hear, then it would be totally appropriate to eliminate those sanctions. It’s too early to make those judgments.”

Cardin said he’s “very, very pleased that the Assad regime no longer exists” but it’s “not clear” what comes next. He noted that the rebel leaders who pushed out the regime have made encouraging comments but also acknowledged their backgrounds with ISIS and Al-Qaida.

“Our objective is to prevent terrorist organizations from gaining any strength or any safe haven in Syria,” Cardin said. “We also want to see a government that respects the rights of its citizens and can control the security of the region.”

He highlighted the need to protect the U.S.’ Kurdish allies and to prevent conflict along the Syrian border with Israel. He further emphasized the need for humanitarian assistance to move into Syria to ensure stability.

Cardin said that the administration has assets in Syria working to find journalist Austin Tice, who was kidnapped in the country in 2012. He also said that U.S. officials are visiting Ankara this week in part for discussions on protecting the Kurds, whom Turkey continues to target.

The Maryland senator added that administration officials had told him there had been positive progress toward a hostage deal and cease-fire in Gaza, “but as I told my staff, that’s about the 30th time they’ve come to me to tell me that, and it didn’t [pan] out, so excuse me for being guarded until I see some response.”

He said that he hopes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is genuine in seeking a deal, but said his “major concern” is that he has “very little confidence that Hamas will agree on those terms.”

“I think we sometimes forget how horrific it was what Hamas did on Oct. 7,” Cardin said. “I’m not just talking about the tragedies that occurred on that day, which was just unspeakable, but taking these hostages, holding these hostages and not releasing these hostages. What type of a warped mind does something like that? So I don’t have a lot of confidence that they’ll follow through on anything.”

Looking ahead to the next Trump term, Cardin said it remains unclear whether President-elect Donald Trump will be able to maintain global alliances and partners, but “the risk could not be higher,” given the emerging alliance among China, North Korea, Iran and Russia.