The EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, Kaja Kallas, met with Syria’s interim foreign minister on Sunday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, ahead of a meeting of top diplomats from the Middle East and the West.
“I had a first meeting with Asaad Hassan al-Shibani. Now is the time for Syria’s new leadership to deliver on the hope they have created – through a peaceful & inclusive transition that protects all minorities. Next, we will discuss with EU Foreign Ministers how to ease sanctions,” she posted on X.
I had a first meeting with Asaad Hassan al-Shibani.
Now is the time for Syria's new leadership to deliver on the hope they have created – through a peaceful & inclusive transition that protects all minorities
Next, we will discuss with EU Foreign Ministers how to ease sanctions pic.twitter.com/3yD6N9U9uP
— Kaja Kallas (@kajakallas) January 12, 2025The Council of the EU most recently extended the sanctions against Syria until June 1, 2025, with 318 individuals and 86 entities subject to an asset freeze and EU travel ban, according to Mandiner. The sanctions also prohibit the direct or indirect provision of funds and other economic resources to the targets.
EU foreign ministers are expected to meet in Brussels on Jan. 27 to decide how the bloc will ease sanctions on Syria, reports Euractiv. Kallas said any decision will be contingent on how the new Syrian government treats “different groups,” including women, emphasizing that “no radicalization” will be tolerated.
Kallas made it clear that the EU will take this one step at a time and will be ready to “step back” if things are “not moving in the right direction.”
Following Sunday’s meeting, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud emphasized the importance of lifting sanctions, as they “hinder the aspirations of the Syrian people to achieve development.”
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said that “Syrians now need a quick dividend from the change of power, and we will continue to help those in Syria who have nothing, as we have done in every year of the civil war.”
There is no intention of easing sanctions targeting Assad and his circle, as clarified by the U.K.’s Foreign Office, which indicated that any actions to support the current government will include “mechanisms to hold the Assad regime to account for the war crimes they perpetrated against the Syrian people.”
The U.S. has lifted sanctions for six months to allow for humanitarian aid and trade in energy.
