EU foreign ministers agree to begin easing sanctions on Syria after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad, as the West looks to build bridges with the war-ravaged country’s new leadership.
“This could give a boost to the Syrian economy and help the country get back on its feet,” foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas says, after a meeting in Brussels.
The 27-nation EU imposed wide-ranging sanctions on the Assad government and Syria’s economy during its civil war.
Kallas says ministers signed up to a “roadmap” for lifting the sanctions starting with key sectors such as energy where relief is needed most urgently.
“While we aim to move fast, we also are ready to reverse the course if the situation worsens, and in parallel, we will scale up humanitarian aid and recovery efforts,” she says.
Europe is keen to help the reconstruction of Syria and build better ties with its new rulers, after the end of the Assad family’s five-decade rule.
But some EU countries worry about embracing the new Islamist-led rulers in Damascus too quickly.
The EU will only suspend the sanctions and not lift them definitively, to maintain leverage over the Syrian leadership.
Syria’s new de facto leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, and the Islamist group he led, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, remain under EU sanctions.
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From the Liveblog of
Monday, January 27, 2025
