France says the EU will lift sanctions on Syria after the fall of al-Assad | Syrian War News

European countries say they are willing to help rebuild the war-torn country and build bridges with its new leaders.

Some European Union sanctions on Syria will be lifted as part of a wider EU initiative to help stabilize Damascus after the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad in December, France’s foreign minister said.

EU leaders discussed this issue at a meeting in Brussels on Monday.

“Regarding Syria, we will decide today to remove, suspend, certain sanctions that have been applied in the energy and transport sectors and in financial institutions that have been important for the stabilization of the country’s finances,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot. he said when he arrived at the meeting in Brussels.

Al-Assad, whose family ruled Syria with iron fists for 54 years, was overthrown by lightning on December 8, ending a devastating 13-year war. The conflict has left large parts of Syria’s major cities in ruins and the majority of people living in poverty.

Al-Assad’s use of torture chambers and chemical weapons during the war turned the country into a nightmare.

The United States and the EU introduced a series of crippling sanctions on Syria in 2011, denying Damascus access to major markets and trade revenues. Western restrictions essentially cut off Syria’s legitimate economy from the rest of the world.

The EU is now preparing to lift the sanctions in stages.

Julien Barnes-Dacey, director at the European Council on Foreign Relations, told Al Jazeera that “there will be a strong sense of conditions” applied to the lifting of sanctions.

He added that the EU wants to provide financial assistance to the new Syrian government while creating time to decide whether the coalition led by the former rebels Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) will transform in a way that is compatible with human rights and democratic norms.

“The idea is to create the conditions for positive change,” Barnes-Dacey said. “But the Europeans want to block the snap-back option, so that if HTS doesn’t go ahead with an inclusive transition, those sanctions can come back into effect.”

He also warned that the lifting of the sanctions imposed by the US will be very important in alleviating many of the problems in Syria.

“European sanctions alone will not change the game. … US sanctions are really disrupting the flow of foreign capital and global business,” he said.

Barnes-Dacey added: “If we’re going to move on to rebuilding and redevelopment, you’re going to need US and European action in tandem.”