ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday held a phone call with Syria’s interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, to congratulate him on assuming his position and invited him to visit France, according to a statement from the Syrian presidency. The statement noted that Macron congratulated Sharaa on “the liberation” of Syria from the Bashar al-Assad regime and invited him to “visit France in the coming weeks.” The Syrian presidency statement further cited Macron as affirming his country's efforts in “lifting the sanctions [imposed] on Syria to facilitate [its] growth and recovery.” In late January, the European Commission Vice President Kaja Kallas told Rudaw that the European Union is considering easing sanctions on Damascus. Both the United Nations and the EU imposed strict sanctions on the Assad regime due to its violent crackdown on anti-government protests in 2011, which eventually sparked a full-blown civil war. Earlier in January, the US relaxed some restrictions on humanitarian transactions in Syria but maintained sanctions. According to the Syrian presidency, Sharaa highlighted to Macron “the current challenges posed by the economic sanctions on the Syrian people and the failure to achieve complete unity of the Syrian territories.” The Kurdish-controlled northeast and the Druze in Syria’s south continue to advocate for federalism and decentralization in post-Assad Syria, despite the staunch rejection by the new Islamist leadership in Damascus that has at times labeled the push as a “red line.” According to the Syrian leadership, Macron and Sharaa further discussed “the security challenges in Syria and the need to collaborate in maintaining security and stability” there. Sharaa was quoted as stating that “Syria will be an active and positive part of the region and the world, sharing the same security concerns as its partners.”
World03-06-2026Germany-based migrants in 2025 sent nearly $1.7B to regional countries, namely Turkey, Syria: Federal bank
