A UN envoy on Sunday called for a quick end to Western sanctions against the country Syria as the country’s new leaders and regional and global powers begin to chart a path forward following the fall of President Bashar Assad.
As a result, the Syrian government has been under strict sanctions for years from the United States, the European Union and others Assad’s brutal response to what started as peaceful anti-government protests in 2011 and later turned into civil war.
The alliance of rebels which ousted Assad just days ago and broke his iron grip on the country, is facing a nation ravaged and deeply isolated by tough international sanctions, which have exacerbated Syria’s previous economic problems. But other challenges are also complicating Syria’s reconstruction: the new transitional leadership has not set out a clear vision for how the country will be governed, and the main group behind the offensive is saddled with a terrorist designation by the US.
The UN envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, told reporters in Damascus that putting Syria back on track after the past few tumultuous weeks would be helped by swift sanctions relief.
“Hopefully we can see an end to sanctions soon so we can really see a rally around building Syria,” he said.
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Parts of Syria’s largest cities remain damaged or destroyed by years of fighting. Reconstruction has been largely hampered by sanctions aimed at preventing the reconstruction of damaged infrastructure and property in government-controlled areas, in the absence of a political solution.
Pedersen traveled to Damascus to meet with officials from the new interim government established by the former opposition forces that toppled Assad, led by the Islamic militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Officials in Washington have indicated that the Biden administration is considering removing the group’s terrorist designation. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this on Saturday Officials have been in direct contact with the group.
This weekend, Blinken attended an emergency meeting in Jordan, where he said he had received support from the 12 foreign ministers of the Arab League, Turkey and top officials from the European Union and the United Nations on how Syria should be governed after decades of Assad family. rule.
They agreed that the new government must respect the rights of minorities and women, prevent terrorist groups from seizing power, ensure humanitarian aid reaches those in need, and secure any remaining Assad-era chemical weapons and destroy. Blinken has pledged that the United States would recognize and support a new administration that adheres to these principles.
President Biden’s virtual call with G7 leaders shows they discussed “the need for a Syrian-led and Syrian-controlled political transition process” amid other Middle East issues.
With the Biden administration clock running, it is not clear what approach newly elected President Donald Trump will take on Syria.
Syria’s interim government will rule until March but has not yet clarified the process by which a new permanent government would replace it.
“We must launch the political process that includes all Syrians,” Pedersen said. “That process must of course be led by the Syrians themselves.”
He called for “justice and responsibility for the crimes” committed during the war and called on the international community to increase humanitarian aid.
In a sign of Syrians’ desire for a return to normality even after the swirling rebel offensive in recent weeks, schools in Damascus reopened on Sunday for the first time since insurgents swept the capital.
At the Nahla Zaidan school in the capital’s Mezzah district, teachers raised the three-star revolutionary flag instead of the two-star Syrian flag of the former government.
“Syria is trying to build this country with these children who came. Although I think some of them are afraid, they have come to build Syria and experience the victories of this country,” said Maysoun Al-Ali, director of the school.
“God willing, there will be more development, more security and more construction in this beloved land.”
