Syria’s Caretaker PM: Syria Has Very Low Foreign Currency Reserves

This handout image made available by the Telegram channel of the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) early on December 17, 2024 shows Syria's interim Prime Minister Mohammad al-Bashir meeting with the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator in Damascus. (SANA / AFP)

10:43-17 December 2024 AD ـ 16 Jumada Al-Alkhirah 1446 AH

Syria’s Caretaker PM: Syria Has Very Low Foreign Currency Reserves

Syrian caretaker Prime Minister Mohammad al-Bashir told Al Jazeera TV on Tuesday that Syria has very low foreign currency reserves.

Current and former Syrian officials have told Reuters that the dollar reserves have been nearly depleted because Bashar al-Assad's government increasingly used them to fund food, fuel and its war effort.

The central bank's foreign exchange reserves amount to just around $200 million in cash, one of the sources told Reuters, while another said the US dollar reserves were "in the hundreds of millions".

Türkiye's Erdogan Says ‘Inclusive’ Administration Needed in Syria

Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meets with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Ankara, Türkiye, December 17, 2024. (Turkish Presidential Press Office/Handout via Reuters)

12:13-17 December 2024 AD ـ 16 Jumada Al-Alkhirah 1446 AH

Türkiye's Erdogan Says ‘Inclusive’ Administration Needed in Syria

Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meets with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Ankara, Türkiye, December 17, 2024. (Turkish Presidential Press Office/Handout via Reuters)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that an inclusive administration is needed in Syria and called on the European Union to support the return of Syrians who fled during the country's 13-year civil war.

"We have seen that we agree on the establishment of an inclusive administration in Syria," Erdogan said at a joint press conference with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Ankara.

Western states are gradually opening channels to the new authorities in Damascus led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group, though they continue to designate it as a terrorist group.

Erdogan said there was no place for terrorist organizations in the region, referring specifically to ISIS and Kurdish militant groups. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has previously highlighted the importance of an inclusive transition process in Syria.

Erdogan also called on the European Union to support the return home of Syrians who fled the war, millions of them to Türkiye.

"We expect the European Union to support returns to Syria," he said.

Syria’s Caretaker PM: Syria Has Very Low Foreign Currency Reserves

Syria’s Caretaker PM: Syria Has Very Low Foreign Currency Reserves

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Türkiye's Erdogan Says ‘Inclusive’ Administration Needed in Syria

Türkiye's Erdogan Says ‘Inclusive’ Administration Needed in Syria

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