US gives Syria list of conditions to be met in exchange for partial sanctions easing
The United States has handed Syria a list of conditions that it wants Damascus to fulfill in exchange for partial sanctions relief, Reuters writes, citing its sources.
According to the agency, the list also includes a provision prohibiting foreigners from holding senior governing positions.
U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Levant and Syria Natasha Franceschi gave the list of demands to Syrian foreign minister Asaad al-Shibani at an in-person meeting on the sidelines of a Syria donor conference in Brussels on March 18.
Among the conditions placed by the United States are Syria’s destruction of any remaining chemical weapons stores and cooperation on counterterrorism, the sources said.
Another demand was making sure foreign fighters are not installed in senior roles in Syria’s governing structure.
Syria has already appointed some foreign ex-rebels, including Uyghurs, a Jordanian and a Turk, to its defense ministry—a move that alarmed foreign governments.
Washington also asked Syria to appoint a liaison to assist U.S. efforts to find Austin Tice, the U.S. journalist who went missing in Syria over a decade ago.
In return for fulfilling all the demands, Washington would provide some sanctions relief, the sources said. One specific action would be a two-year extension of an existing exemption for transactions with Syrian governing institutions, and possibly the issuance of another exemption.
The U.S. would also issue a statement supporting Syria’s territorial integrity, the source said. Washington did not provide a specific timeline for the conditions to be fulfilled. A spokesperson for the State Department said the agency does not “discuss our private diplomatic conversations publicly.”
State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce last week said Washington was monitoring the actions of the interim rulers.
The U.S. issued a six-month general license in January to ease the flow of humanitarian aid, but the move was not considered enough to allow Qatar to pay for public sector salaries through Syria’s central bank. Syrian officials, including Shibani and interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa have called for sanctions to be fully lifted, saying it is unjust to keep them in place following Assad’s toppling by a lightning rebel offensive in December.
