Saudi Arabia urged top European diplomats at a gathering Sunday to lift sanctions against Syria to boost rebuilding the country and its economy after last month’s overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad.
European and Middle Eastern diplomats met in the Saudi capital Riyadh to discuss Syria’s future. The US and European countries have been wary over the roots of Syria’s new rulers — the former insurgents who drove Assad out of power — and have said ending sanctions depends on the progress of the political transition.
The interim government led by the former opposition factions has vowed to move to a pluralist, open system. It is looking for international support as the country tries to recover from nearly 14 years of civil war that killed an estimated 500,000 people and displaced half the prewar population of 23 million. The new Syrian foreign minister, Asaad al-Shaibani, attended Sunday’s gathering.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah said international and unilateral sanctions on Syria should be lifted.
Continuing them “will hinder the aspirations of the brotherly Syrian people to achieve development and reconstruction,” he said. He praised steps so far by the interim government, including promises to start a political process “that includes various components” of the Syrian people.
Tackling any challenges or sources of concern should take place through dialogue and in a way that respects Syria’s independence and sovereignty, he added. “Syria’s future will be decided by the Syrian people,” he declared.
Saudi Arabia believes that the people have the right to determine their own fate through internal dialogue that ends all of their crises, he went on to say.
The United States, European Union and some Arab nations began imposing sanctions after Assad’s brutal crackdown on the 2011 uprising against his rule and tightened them as the conflict spiraled into war. Some are on individuals in Assad’s government, including freezing of assets. But many target the government in general, including bans on many financial and banking dealings, on oil purchases and on investment or trade in some sectors, crippling the wider economy.
There are exemptions when it comes to humanitarian aid, but relief organizations have said that overcompliance by financial institutions hinders their operations.
At the gathering, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said sanctions against “Assad’s henchmen who committed serious crimes” must remain in place.
But she called for “a smart approach to sanctions, providing rapid relief for the Syrian population. Syrians now need a quick dividend from the transition of power.” She did not elaborate but announced an additional 50 million euros ($51.2 million) in German aid for food, emergency shelters and medical care.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who also attended the meeting, said European countries want to see a government that includes all of Syria’s religious and ethnic communities. “We want to see inclusivity of women also in the process, so these are the things that we are going to discuss,” she said.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said his country, which was a strong supporter of the Syrian opposition to Assad, would try to help Syria in normalizing ties with the international community.
He said it was important to establish “a balance between the expectations of the international community and the realities faced by the new administration in Syria.”
He pledged Turkish support to the new government, especially in combating threats from the ISIS group. “As Türkiye, we are ready to do our part to ease the difficult path ahead for the Syrian people,” he said in comments carried by Türkiye’s state-run Anadolu Agency.
Last week, the United States eased some of its restrictions on Syria, with the US Treasury issuing a general license, lasting six months, that authorizes certain transactions with the Syrian government, including some energy sales and incidental transactions.
The US has also dropped a $10 million bounty it had offered for the capture of Ahmad al-Sharaa, a Syrian rebel leader formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, whose forces led the ouster of Assad last month. Al-Sharaa was a former senior al-Qaeda fighter who broke with the group years ago and has pledged an inclusive Syria that respects the rights of religious minorities.
The opposition led a lightning insurgency that ousted Assad on Dec. 8 and ended his family’s decades-long rule.
Much of the world severed ties with Assad and imposed sanctions on his government — and its Russian and Iranian allies — over alleged war crimes and the manufacturing of the amphetamine-like stimulant Captagon, which reportedly generated billions of dollars as packages of the little white pills were smuggled across Syria’s porous borders.
With Assad out of the picture, Syria’s new authorities hope that the international community will pour money into the country to rebuild its battered infrastructure and make its economy viable again.
Sunday’s meeting brought together foreign ministers and representatives from Bahrain, Egypt, France, Germany, Iraq, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Spain, Syria, Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States, as well as the Secretary-General of the Arab League, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, and the UN Special Envoy for Syria.
The meeting also addressed concerns over Israel's incursions into the buffer zone and neighboring sites in Mount Hermon and Quneitra Governorate. Participants underscored the need to respect Syria's unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.
Prince Faisal reiterated the Saudi Arabia’s strong condemnation of Israel's incursions into Syrian territories, calling them violations of international law and the 1974 disengagement agreement. He demanded the immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces and renewed the Kingdom's rejection of such actions as acts of aggression and occupation.
