Reuters reports that the US has presented Syria with a set of conditions for partial sanctions relief.
The United States has presented Syria with a set of conditions for partial sanctions relief, including a demand that foreigners not occupy senior governing roles, according to six individuals familiar with the matter who spoke with Reuters.
US Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Levant and Syria, Natasha Franceschi, delivered the list of demands to Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani during an in-person meeting on the sidelines of a Syria donor conference in Brussels on March 18, according to the Reuters report on Tuesday.
This marks the first high-level direct contact between Damascus and Washington since President Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20.
The Reuters report cited six sources, including two US officials, a Syrian source, a regional diplomat, and two sources in Washington.
The United States’ conditions include Syria’s destruction of any remaining chemical weapons and cooperation in counter-terrorism efforts, according to the US officials, Syrian source, and Washington sources.
Another condition is ensuring foreign fighters are not appointed to senior positions in Syria’s government, the US officials and one of the sources in Washington added.
Syria has already appointed foreign ex-rebels, including Uyghurs, a Jordanian, and a Turk, to the country’s defense ministry, raising concerns among foreign governments. The US also requested that Syria appoint a liaison to assist in efforts to locate Austin Tice, the American journalist who went missing in Syria more than a decade ago.
In exchange for fulfilling these demands, Washington would offer some sanctions relief, according to all six sources. This would likely include a two-year extension of an existing exemption for transactions with Syrian governing institutions, with the potential issuance of another exemption. The US would also issue a statement supporting Syria’s territorial integrity.
However, Washington did not provide a specific timeline for when these conditions would need to be met. The Syrian foreign ministry declined to comment on the matter, and a spokesperson for the US State Department said the agency does not discuss private diplomatic discussions publicly.
Syria is currently ruled by interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, whose Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) led a swift offensive that toppled the Assad regime in December.
HTS traces its origins to Al-Qaeda’s Syrian branch and remains classified as a terrorist organization by multiple countries, including the United States, though the US lifted the bounty on Sharaa’s head soon after he was named Syria’s leader.The United States has presented Syria with a set of conditions for partial sanctions relief, including a demand that foreigners not occupy senior governing roles, according to six individuals familiar with the matter who spoke with Reuters.
US Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Levant and Syria, Natasha Franceschi, delivered the list of demands to Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani during an in-person meeting on the sidelines of a Syria donor conference in Brussels on March 18, according to the Reuters report on Tuesday.
This marks the first high-level direct contact between Damascus and Washington since President Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20.
The Reuters report cited six sources, including two US officials, a Syrian source, a regional diplomat, and two sources in Washington.
The United States’ conditions include Syria’s destruction of any remaining chemical weapons and cooperation in counter-terrorism efforts, according to the US officials, Syrian source, and Washington sources.
Another condition is ensuring foreign fighters are not appointed to senior positions in Syria’s government, the US officials and one of the sources in Washington added.
Syria has already appointed foreign ex-rebels, including Uyghurs, a Jordanian, and a Turk, to the country’s defense ministry, raising concerns among foreign governments. The US also requested that Syria appoint a liaison to assist in efforts to locate Austin Tice, the American journalist who went missing in Syria more than a decade ago.
In exchange for fulfilling these demands, Washington would offer some sanctions relief, according to all six sources. This would likely include a two-year extension of an existing exemption for transactions with Syrian governing institutions, with the potential issuance of another exemption. The US would also issue a statement supporting Syria’s territorial integrity.
However, Washington did not provide a specific timeline for when these conditions would need to be met. The Syrian foreign ministry declined to comment on the matter, and a spokesperson for the US State Department said the agency does not discuss private diplomatic discussions publicly.
Syria is currently ruled by interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, whose Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) led a swift offensive that toppled the Assad regime in December.
HTS traces its origins to Al-Qaeda’s Syrian branch and remains classified as a terrorist organization by multiple countries, including the United States, though the US lifted the bounty on Sharaa’s head soon after he was named Syria’s leader. Although some sanctions have been temporarily suspended, the impact has been limited. In January, the US issued a six-month general license to facilitate humanitarian aid, but this measure was insufficient to allow Qatar to pay for public sector salaries through Syria’s central bank.
Syrian officials, including Sharaa and Foreign Minister Shibani, have called for the full lifting of sanctions, arguing that it is unjust to maintain them after Assad’s ousting.
