US Department of State to Asharq Al-Awsat: No Leniency in Enforcing ‘Caesar Act’

US Department of State sign - Reuters
US Department of State sign - Reuters
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US Department of State to Asharq Al-Awsat: No Leniency in Enforcing ‘Caesar Act’

US Department of State sign - Reuters
US Department of State sign - Reuters

The Biden administration is yet to reveal its policy on dealing with the Syrian crisis, but many believe that Washington will continue to implement the Caesar Act, which is US legislation that sanctions the Syrian government, until matters become more clear.

“No leniency will be shown in enforcing the Caesar Act,” a Department of State spokesperson told Asharq Al-Awsat, adding that Washington will maintain diplomacy in working to facilitate humanitarian relief in Syria and finding a solution for peace in the war-torn Levantine country.

In 2019, the Caesar Act was passed under the Trump administration and was voted in by both the House of Representatives and Senate.

The new administration under President Joe Biden has taken upon itself commitment to applying the legislation without targeting trade or humanitarian aid work in Syria.

“Lebanon’s people and economy will not be targeted,” the spokesperson confirmed, quelling concerns of the sanctions affecting Syria’s neighbor.

“Certainly, the Caesar Act targets persons or entities that support the Assad regime and impede a peaceful political solution to the conflict, as called for by Security Council Resolution 2254,” they explained.

The spokesperson did not comment on the new appointments made at the Department of State. Media outlets have reported that David Brownstein will replace the former deputy Syria envoy under the Donald Trump administration, William Roebuck.

It is noteworthy that the Biden administration has also confirmed that it would not withdraw from Syria anytime soon, even for moral reasons.

Separately, State Department Spokesman Ned Price held his first press conference on Tuesday.

“When it comes to Syria, look, we will renew efforts to promote a political settlement to end Syria’s civil war in close consultations with our allies, our partners in the UN,” said Price.

“A political settlement must address the underlying causes that led to nearly a decade of civil war,” he explained.

“We will use the tools at our disposal including economic pressure to push for meaningful reform and accountability, and we’ll continue to support the UN’s role in negotiating a political settlement in line with UNSC resolution 2254.”

“We will also restore US leadership in providing humanitarian aid,” added Price.

“Syria is a humanitarian catastrophe, and we must do more to aid vulnerable Syrians displaced within Syria as well as refugees who have fled abroad,” he concluded.



Pro-Türkiye Syria Groups Reduce Presence in Kurdish Area, Says Official

US-backed Kurdish fighters stand on their vehicles, as they withdraw from two neighborhoods in Syria's northern city of Aleppo as part of a deal with the Syrian central government, in Aleppo, Syria, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP)
US-backed Kurdish fighters stand on their vehicles, as they withdraw from two neighborhoods in Syria's northern city of Aleppo as part of a deal with the Syrian central government, in Aleppo, Syria, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP)
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Pro-Türkiye Syria Groups Reduce Presence in Kurdish Area, Says Official

US-backed Kurdish fighters stand on their vehicles, as they withdraw from two neighborhoods in Syria's northern city of Aleppo as part of a deal with the Syrian central government, in Aleppo, Syria, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP)
US-backed Kurdish fighters stand on their vehicles, as they withdraw from two neighborhoods in Syria's northern city of Aleppo as part of a deal with the Syrian central government, in Aleppo, Syria, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP)

Pro-Türkiye Syrian groups have scaled down their military presence in an historically Kurdish-majority area of the country's north which they have controlled since 2018, a Syrian defense ministry official said on Tuesday.

The move follows an agreement signed last month between Syria's new authorities and Kurdish officials that provides for the return of displaced Kurds, including tens of thousands who fled the Afrin region in 2018.

The pro-Ankara groups have "reduced their military presence and checkpoints" in Afrin, in Aleppo province, the official told AFP, requesting anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Their presence has been "maintained in the region for now", said the official, adding that authorities wanted to station them in army posts but these had been a regular target of Israeli strikes.

After opposition forces ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December, the new authorities announced the disbanding of all armed groups and their integration into the new army, a move that should include pro-Türkiye groups who control swathes of northern Syria.

Turkish forces and their Syrian proxies carried out an offensive from January to March 2018 targeting Kurdish fighters in the Afrin area.

The United Nations has estimated that half of the enclave's 320,000 inhabitants fled during the offensive.

Last month, the Kurdish administration that controls swathes of northern and northeastern Syria struck a deal to integrate its civil and military institutions into those of the central government.

Syria's new leadership has been seeking to unify the country since the December overthrow of Assad after more than 13 years of civil war.

This month, Kurdish fighters withdrew from two neighborhoods of Aleppo as part of the deal.

Syrian Kurdish official Bedran Kurd said on X that the Aleppo city agreement "represents the first phase of a broader plan aimed at ensuring the safe return of the people of Afrin".

The autonomous Kurdish-led administration's military force, the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, played a key role in the recapture of the last territory held by the ISIS group in Syria in 2019.