Syrian Finance Minister Discusses Finances, Sanctions with EU Officials in Damascus 

Syrian Finance Minister Mohammed Abazeed meets with Germany's temporary representative in Syria Bjorn Gehrmann, in Damascus, Syria January 29, 2025. (Reuters)
Syrian Finance Minister Mohammed Abazeed meets with Germany's temporary representative in Syria Bjorn Gehrmann, in Damascus, Syria January 29, 2025. (Reuters)
TT
20

Syrian Finance Minister Discusses Finances, Sanctions with EU Officials in Damascus 

Syrian Finance Minister Mohammed Abazeed meets with Germany's temporary representative in Syria Bjorn Gehrmann, in Damascus, Syria January 29, 2025. (Reuters)
Syrian Finance Minister Mohammed Abazeed meets with Germany's temporary representative in Syria Bjorn Gehrmann, in Damascus, Syria January 29, 2025. (Reuters)

Syrian Finance Minister Mohammed Abazeed discussed his country's financial position and potential sanctions relief in his first meeting with European Union officials on Wednesday since opposition forces ousted the Assad regime last year. 

Abazeed met with Germany’s temporary envoy to Syria Bjorn Gehrmann and EU representative Michael Ohnmacht in Damascus just days after the European Union agreed on a roadmap to ease its sanctions on Syria. 

The EU has a range of sanctions in place targeting both individuals and economic sectors in Syria, including a ban on Syrian oil exports and restrictions on access to global financial channels. 

“We hope that the image Germany had of Syria before December 8 will change,” Abazeed told Gehrmann at the beginning of the meeting. 

“It’s a pleasure to be here in the new Syria after almost 13 years of absence,” Gehrmann responded. 

“We’re now in the process of reestablishing our diplomatic presence in Damascus… we have a couple of questions and a couple of messages that I would like to discuss with you today in order to start our diplomatic relations, also on the financial matters.” 

Gehrmann told Reuters after the meeting that the EU was still hammering out the details of which sanctions would be lifted in Brussels and it could take a few weeks. 

He said the meeting had explored Syria’s budgetary situation and financial sector regulations and priorities for sanctions relief. 

“It was the first discussion about the general situation and what we heard so far was encouraging,” he said. 

EU governments want to help kickstart Syria’s recovery. But many have also stressed that the EU should take a gradual and reversible approach to retain leverage as it encourages the new authorities in Damascus to implement inclusive policies. 



Egypt, Spain Reject US Plan to Displace Gazans

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (R) and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi hold a signed agreements following their meeting at Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain, 19 February 2025. (EPA)
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (R) and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi hold a signed agreements following their meeting at Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain, 19 February 2025. (EPA)
TT
20

Egypt, Spain Reject US Plan to Displace Gazans

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (R) and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi hold a signed agreements following their meeting at Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain, 19 February 2025. (EPA)
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (R) and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi hold a signed agreements following their meeting at Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain, 19 February 2025. (EPA)

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Wednesday rejected a controversial proposal by US President Donald Trump to displace Palestinians from the war-devastated Gaza Strip.  

The Arab League is scheduled to hold an extraordinary meeting in Cairo on March 4 in response to Trump's plan to take over Gaza and permanently move its Palestinian inhabitants elsewhere, including to Egypt and Jordan, and then redevelop the coastal territory into the "Riviera of the Middle East".  

Speaking in Madrid ahead of the gathering, Sisi called for the "international community's support and adoption of a plan to rebuild the Gaza Strip without displacing the Palestinian people -- I repeat, without displacing the Palestinian people -- from their land, which they cling to, and their homeland, which they do not agree to relinquish".

Sanchez, one of the staunchest defenders of the Palestinian cause within the European Union, agreed, saying "Gaza belongs to the Palestinians and is part of the future Palestinian state".

"Their expulsion would not only be immoral and contrary to international law and United Nations resolutions, but would also have a destabilizing effect," the Socialist premier added.  

The two leaders also signed a declaration upgrading Egypt-Spain relations to a "strategic partnership", as well as several memorandums of understanding in various fields including illegal migration and defense.  

Trump's plan sparked an outcry from Arab governments as well as from world leaders, and the United Nations warned against "ethnic cleansing" in the Palestinian territory.