Europe to suspend Syria sanctions

A draft declaration showed that the European Union intends to suspend sanctions imposed on Syria related to the areas of energy, transport and reconstruction, according to a Reuters report.

EU foreign ministers are expected to discuss the Syrian file during a meeting in Brussels on February 24.

It is noteworthy that the bloc's foreign policy official, Kaya Kallas, announced at the end of January that the ministers agreed on a "roadmap" to ease sanctions on Syria after the fall of the former Syrian regime.

Kallas said at the time that easing sanctions is contingent on assessing developments in Syria, and that sanctions on Syria will be lifted gradually.

She also explained that sanctions on weapons in Syria will not be eased now.

Three diplomats and a European document revealed last month that the EU may suspend sanctions on the Syrian energy and transport sectors, but not on financial transactions.

Several diplomats from the EU's 27 member states recommended taking rapid steps to suspend restrictions "in sectors essential to economic stability and the start of economic reconstruction in Syria, such as those related to energy and transport."

It is noteworthy that several European envoys, officials and ministers had visited Damascus in recent weeks, after the fall of former President Bashar al-Assad on December 8, and spoke about gradually lifting sanctions, while stipulating at the same time a peaceful political transition in the country, and preserving the rights of components, public freedoms and the diversity of Syrian society.

ANHA