Saudi Arabia calls for lifting of sanctions on Syria in boost for post-Assad order

Kingdom hosts meeting of western and Arab powers on ways to stabilise the country

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  Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al Shibani during talks on Syria in Riyadh. Reuters

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  Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs arrives at an Arab officials' meeting in Riyadh. AFP

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  Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty attends a meeting on Syria in Riyadh. Reuters

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  Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan welcomes Oman's Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi in Riyadh. AFP

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  Iraq's Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein during the meeting to discuss Syria. Reuters

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  Lebanon's Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib arriving in Riyadh. AFP

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  Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan arrives before the meeting of top diplomats from the Middle East and Europe to discuss Syria. AFP

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  Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi arrives to attend an Arab officials' meeting in Riyadh. AFP

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  Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan with Bahrain's Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al Zayani, before the Arab officials' meeting. AFP

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  German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock arrives for the meeting on Syria. Reuters

Saudi Arabia called for the lifting of sanctions on Syria on Sunday, in a major diplomatic boost for the Hayat Tahrir Al Sham government in Damascus.

Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan told a meeting in Riyadh of western and Arab powers about the “importance of lifting unilateral and UN sanctions imposed on Syria”.

“Their continuation will hinder the ambitions of the Syrian people in achieving development and reconstruction,” Prince Faisal said after the meeting, the largest gathering to discuss Syria's future since HTS swept through Syria and took power from former president Bashar Al Assad in December.

Foreign Minister Asaad Al Shibani represented Syria at the talks.

Participants praised “positive steps” taken by the new administration to preserve state institutions and consult with other countries to counter terrorism and “start an inclusive political transition”, Prince Faisal said.

“We affirmed the need to continue giving all aspects of humanitarian and economic support to the Syrian state and achieve stability and reconstruction,” he said.

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs said the expanded ministerial meeting showed the “importance of collective regional, international and UN efforts to support the Syrian people at all levels, meeting their legitimate aspirations for lasting security, stability, prosperity and development”.

He said that the UAE supported Syria's independence and sovereignty, adding unity and cohesion among the Syrian people was important to “build a unified, stable, and secure Syria free from terrorism and exclusion”.

The fall of the Assad regime has upended international relations across the Middle East, curbing Iranian expansion and weakening Russian influence. Arab countries had ended hostilities with Mr Al Assad in the three years before his fall while European countries had started to engage with him in the hope of sending back Syrian refugees.

Over the past month in Damascus, HTS leader Ahmad Al Shara has installed his officials at the top of government and in senior line manager positions within the bureaucracy, as well as governor positions. He has said a transition of government could take years, without specifying the shape of the political system to come.

He has repeatedly called for sanctions to be lifted in order for Syria to rebuild.

Syrians sing at a concert by recently returned singer Wasfi Maasrani in Damascus. AP

Since the civil war in 2011, sanctions have been imposed on the Assad regime, as well as on HTS by the US and European countries. Western nations and the UN Security Council regard HTS, which was previously linked to Al Qaeda, as a terrorist organisation.

Now the EU is set to discuss the possibility of lifting sanctions on Syria in a meeting in Brussels at the end of January, according to Kaja Kallas, the bloc's high representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

“We will work to ensure that we can indeed make a decision on this issue at that time,” she said in Riyadh.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said sanctions should be retained on remnants of the Assad regime who had “committed serious crimes” during the war.

“Syrians now need a quick dividend from the transition of power,” she said in Riyadh.

Washington has temporarily lifted some sanctions on the Syrian government that were first imposed in the 1970s over former leader Hafez Al Assad's support for militant groups, and stiffened considerably after Syrian authorities killed thousands of civilians in a crackdown on a pro-democracy revolt in 2011.

In 2019, Congress passed the Caesar Act, which elevated sanctions on Syria to a new level, imposing bans on dealing with the Syrian regime and its associates across entire economic sectors. It was named after a photographer code-named Caesar who defected from Mr Al Assad's military and provided photos made public in 2014 that documented the killing of thousands of political prisoners.

For the next six months, the US will grant waivers to aid groups and companies to provide parts and services for Syria's water and electricity sectors, as well for sending humanitarian relief.

Under-Secretary of State Jon Bass represented Washington at the Riyadh meeting, which included Sheikh Abdullah, plus senior officials from Bahrain, France, Germany, Iraq, Italy, Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar and Turkey, which has close ties with HTS.

Last week, Mr Bass met Turkish officials in Ankara to discuss a “peaceful, inclusive” transition and “preventing Syria from being used as a base for terrorism”, the State Department said.

Two senior US diplomats met Mr Al Shara in Damascus last week. They relayed American concerns about his inclusion of foreign fighters in the nation's new security force. A source briefed on the meeting told The National that Mr Al Shara said their integration was necessary to preserve stability.

Several days after Mr Al Assad's fall in December, the same nations that met in Riyadh issued a declaration demanding that “Syrian territory does not pose a threat to any country, or a shelter to terrorists”.

The coming period would be critical for instilling pluralism and respect for human rights in Syria, they said, after 54 years of Assad family rule.

Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy, among those attending the Riyadh meeting on Sunday, said world powers “must come together to stand behind the people of Syria as they build a democratic future and a diverse and modern country”.

“Syrians deserve a bright and prosperous future,” he said.