EU ministers will consider easing sanctions on Syria at a meeting later in January

[January 13, 2025]  By BARAA ANWER

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — European Union foreign ministers will meet in late January to discuss easing sanctions imposed on Syria, the bloc's foreign policy chief said Sunday. However, she said the move would depend on Syria's new rulers carrying out an inclusive political transition after last month’s overthrow of President Bashar Assad.

Kaja Kallas' comments came at a gathering of top European and Middle Eastern diplomats in the Saudi capital of Riyadh to discuss Syria’s future.

Saudi Arabia called for the lifting of sanctions, which threaten to undermine Syria's recovery from nearly 14 years of civil war that killed an estimated 500,000 people and displaced half the country's prewar population of 23 million.

European countries and the United States have been wary over the Islamist roots of the former insurgents who drove Assad out of power and who now lead an interim government.

The former rebels have promised to hold a national dialogue summit that includes different groups across Syria to agree upon a new political road map leading to a new constitution and an election.

Kallas said EU foreign ministers will look at how to ease sanctions during a Jan. 27 meeting in Brussels.

“But this must follow tangible progress in a political transition that reflects Syria in all its diversity,” she said in a post on the social media platform X. She also posted a photo of herself meeting the new Syrian foreign minister, Asaad al-Shibani at Sunday’s gathering.

Germany urges ‘smart approach’ to sanctions

The U.S., the EU and some Arab nations began imposing sanctions on Syria after Assad’s brutal crackdown on the 2011 uprising against his rule and tightened them as the conflict spiraled into war.

Some of the measures are against individuals in Assad’s government, including freezing of assets. But many target the government in general, including bans on many financial and banking dealings, on oil purchases and on investment or trade in some sectors, crippling the wider Syrian economy.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said sanctions against “Assad’s henchmen who committed serious crimes” must remain in place.

But she called for “a smart approach to sanctions, providing rapid relief for the Syrian population. Syrians now need a quick dividend from the transition of power.” Baerbock did not elaborate but announced an additional 50 million euros ($51.2 million) in German aid for food, emergency shelters and medical care.

At the gathering, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said international and unilateral sanctions on Syria should be lifted.

Continuing them “will hinder the aspirations of the brotherly Syrian people to achieve development and reconstruction,” he said. He praised steps taken so far by the interim Syrian government, including promises to start a political process “that includes various components” of the Syrian people.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud speaks during a press briefing, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Baraa Anwer)

Turkey urges ‘balance’ in international demands of Syria

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said his country, which was a strong supporter of the Syrian opposition to Assad, would try to help Syria in normalizing ties with the international community.

He said it was important to establish a “balance between the expectations of the international community and the realities faced by the new administration in Syria.”

He pledged Turkish support to the new government, especially in combating threats from the Islamic State group.

“As Turkey, we are ready to do our part to ease the difficult path ahead for the Syrian people,” he said in comments carried by Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency.

Washington has eased some restrictions

Last week, Washington eased some of its restrictions on Syria, with the U.S. Treasury issuing a general license, lasting six months, that authorizes certain transactions with the Syrian government, including some energy sales and incidental transactions.

The U.S. has also dropped a $10 million bounty it had offered for the capture of Ahmad al-Sharaa, a Syrian rebel leader formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, whose forces led the ouster of Assad last month. Al-Sharaa was a former senior al-Qaida militant who broke with the group years ago and has pledged an inclusive Syria that respects the rights of religious minorities.

The rebels led a lightning insurgency that ousted Assad on Dec. 8 and ended his family’s decades-long rule.

Much of the world severed ties with Assad and imposed sanctions on his government — and its Russian and Iranian allies — over alleged war crimes and the manufacturing of the amphetamine-like stimulant Captagon, which reportedly generated billions of dollars as packages of the little white pills were smuggled across Syria’s porous borders.

With Assad out of the picture, Syria’s new authorities hope that the international community will pour money into the country to rebuild its battered infrastructure and make its economy viable again.

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