Syrian FM says scrapping sanctions ‘key’ to country’s stability

Syria’s top diplomat says lifting economic sanctions imposed during the rule of ousted president Bashar al-Assad is “key” to restoring stability in the war-torn country.

For weeks, Syria’s new authorities have been lobbying Western powers to scrap restrictions that had targeted Assad’s administration over his brutal 2011 crackdown on anti-government protests, which triggered the country’s civil war. But the international community has been hesitant to roll back the measures, with many countries — including the US — saying they are waiting to see how Syria’s new rulers exercise their power before doing so.

“Removing economic sanctions is the key for the stability of Syria,” Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani says in a conversation with former British prime minister Tony Blair at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The sanctions, he adds, were imposed for the benefit of Syrians, but are now “against the Syrian people.”