DAVOS: Syria’s top diplomat said on Wednesday that lifting economic sanctions imposed during the rule of ousted president Bashar al-Assad was “key” to restoring stability in the war-torn country.

For weeks, Syria’s new authorities have been lobbying Western powers to scrap restrictions that had targeted Assad’s administration over his brutal 2011 crackdown on anti-government protests, which triggered the country’s civil war. But the international community has been hesitant to roll back the measures, with many countries — including the US — saying they are waiting to see how Syria’s new rulers exercise their power before doing so.

“Removing economic sanctions is the key for the stability of Syria,” Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said in a conversation with former British prime minister Tony Blair at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The sanctions, he added, were imposed for the benefit of Syrians, but are now “against the Syrian people”.

On Dec 8, rebels led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group seized control of Damascus and ousted Assad, ending more than 50 years of his family’s iron-fisted rule. Nearly 14 years of conflict have killed more than half a million Syrians, destroyed the country’s infrastructure and impoverished its people, forcing millions to flee their homes.

“The reason for these sanctions is now in Moscow,” Shaibani said, referring to Assad, who fled to the Russian capital. He added that “the Syrian people shouldn’t be punished” by measures levelled against the now-deposed ruler.

‘Collapsed state’

Shaibani also insisted in Davos that Syria would not be “a threat for any country in the world”. HTS, whose chief Ahmed al-Sharaa is Syria’s new leader, has its roots in a former branch of Al Qaeda in Syria, but it broke ties with the religious group in 2016 and has sought to soften its image.

“We inherited a collapsed state from the Assad regime, there is no economic system,” Shaibani said, adding that “the economy in the future will be open”.

The new authorities would focus on five sectors, he said: energy, telecoms, roads and airports, education and health. “If we succeed in these five sectors, the basic services for our Syrian people” will be provided, he added.

Earlier Wednesday, Shaibani told the Financial Times that a committee had been created to study “Syria’s economic condition and infrastructure and would focus on privatisation efforts, including of oils, cotton and furniture factories”. Syria will also “explore public-private partnerships to encourage investment into airports, railways and roads”, according to his interview with the FT.

On Jan 6, the US announced that it was providing limited sanctions relief on some activities in Syria for the next six months to ease access to basic services following Assad’s fall. Earlier this month, the European Union’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said that the bloc could begin lifting sanctions if Syria’s new rulers took steps to form an inclusive government that protected minorities. EU foreign ministers are expected to discuss proposals to ease some measures at a meeting in Brussels on Jan 27.

Published in Dawn, January 23rd, 2025