![Syria's newly appointed Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani gives a speech in Damascus, Syria on December 30, 2024. [Photo by Ali Haj Suleiman/Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/GettyImages-2191161948-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
Syria has welcomed the European Union’s decision to suspend sanctions for a year, and described the decision as a “positive step towards sustainable development.” The comment was made on social media by Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan Al-Shibani yesterday.
“We welcome the positive step taken by the EU to suspend the sanctions imposed on Syria for a year, in preparation for permanently lifting sanctions,” said Al-Shibani. “We hope that this decision reflects positively on all aspects of life for the Syrian people and ensures sustainable development.”
Following a similar US decision, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas announced on Monday that the EU foreign ministers had agreed on a roadmap to ease sanctions on Syria. “While we aim to move fast, the lifting of sanctions can be reversed if wrong steps are taken,” added Kallas.
The EU official did not provide any information about the sectors that will feel the easing of sanctions. Her previous statements indicated that the lifting of sanctions would begin with sectors that would pave the way for the country’s reconstruction, especially energy and transportation.
On 7 January, the US Department of the Treasury announced a 6-month easing of sanctions on Syria, with the aim of facilitating the continuation of basic services in the country.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a general permit allowing relief organisations and companies to provide basic services to Syria, such as electricity, water and sanitation, without the need to obtain approval for each individual application.
It also allows transactions that support the sale, supply, storage or donation of energy, including petroleum, natural gas and electricity, within Syria. The permit authorises transactions necessary to process non-commercial personal transfers to Syria, including transfers through the Central Bank of Syria.
Syrian opposition factions gained control of the capital Damascus on 8 December, days after taking control of other cities, ending 61 years of the violent Baath Party regime and 53 years of rule by the Assad family.
The next day, the leader of the new Syrian administration, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, announced that Mohammed Al-Bashir, the head of the government that had been running Idlib for years, had been tasked with forming a government to manage the transitional period.
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