Canada Announces Plan to Ease Syria Sanctions

A person carries a flag adopted by the new Syrian rulers, in the Umayyad Mosque, after Syria's Bashar al-Assad was ousted, in Damascus, Syria, December 27, 2024. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

The Canadian government on Wednesday announced plans to ease sanctions on Syria during what it called a period of transition.
Many Western nations, including Canada, had put a range of sanctions against Syria under its ousted President Bashar al-Assad, who was toppled late last year by opposition forces led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group.
The Canadian government issued a statement announcing the steps that it said displayed Ottawa's "commitment to deliver much-needed humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people and to support a transition to an inclusive and peaceful future."
The Canadian government said it is providing C$84 million in new funding for humanitarian assistance to Syria.
"Canada is also taking steps to ease existing sanctions for a period of 6 months, to support democratization, stabilization, and the delivery of aid to and within Syria during this period of transition," the Canadian government said in its statement.
Canada’s ambassador to Lebanon, Stefanie McCollum, was nominated to serve concurrently as non-resident ambassador to Syria, Ottawa added.
Canada added it was issuing a general permit, valid for a period of 6 months, that allows Canadians to carry out financial transactions and services, that are otherwise prohibited, when supporting democratization, stabilization and the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Syria.
It said it will be easing sanctions to allow funds to be sent through certain banks in the country, such as Syria’s Central Bank.