ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A European Union official on Monday urged Syria’s new leadership to form an inclusive government, warning that EU sanctions would be reinstated if the situation does not progress in the “right direction.” The statement came just hours after the EU Council suspended a number of restrictive measures on key economic sectors in Syria.
The EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and European Commission Vice President, Kaja Kallas, told Rudaw’s Zinar Shino that “any [new] government formed [in Syria] must be inclusive, encompassing the [country’s] various [ethnic and religious] groups.” She warned that if things “do not head in the right direction, we are ready to reimpose the waivered sanctions.”
Earlier in the day, the EU Council had suspended sectoral measures targeting the energy and transport sectors in Syria. The Council also removed five Syrian entities from its sanctions list: the Industrial Bank, the Popular Credit Bank, the Saving Bank, the Agricultural Cooperative Bank, and the Syrian Arab Airlines.
The EU stated that the recent measures aim “to facilitate engagement with Syria” in key areas, as well as financial and banking transactions essential for “humanitarian and reconstruction purposes.” The Council added that it would “closely monitor the situation” in Syria and “assess whether further economic sanctions could be suspended.”
Additionally, the EU will allow the release of funds and economic resources to the Syrian Central Bank and introduce exemptions to the prohibition on banking relations between Syria’s financial institutions and those in EU member states. However, the EU with “maintain listings” relating to the ousted Bashar al-Assad regime, including sectors linked to “chemical weapons and illicit drug trade.”
Sectoral measures on arms trade, items of cultural significance, and interception and surveillance will also remain in place, the Council stated.
In December, following a swift offensive, a coalition of opposition groups led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, headed by Ahmed al-Sharaa, toppled the Assad regime, and in late January Sharaa was appointed as Syria’s interim president. He has since vowed to hold a National Dialogue Conference to pave the way for “free and fair elections.”
Since taking charge, the new leadership in Damascus has been adamant about lifting international sanctions. However, observers have urged the international community to link any such relief to concrete benchmarks, including commitments to an inclusive political process.
