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Sanctions were levied during the rule of Bashar al-Assad who was toppled in December.
European Union countries have given a green light to lifting all economic sanctions on Syria in a bid to help the war-torn country recover after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad, according to diplomats.
Ambassadors from the EU’s 27 member states struck a preliminary agreement for the move, which should be formally unveiled by foreign ministers meeting in Brussels later on Tuesday, diplomats told the AFP news agency.
This follows the United States announcement last week that it is also lifting sanctions on Damascus.
Reporting from the EU headquarters, Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbarra described the lifting of the sanctions as a “really significant” development.
“It’s first of all an acknowledgement that the EU recognises the authority which is operating now in Syria, and that there need to be now more financial transactions to pave the way for the creation of financial stability and improve the living standards of the people in Syria,” he said.
Sanctions were levied during the rule of al-Assad. The country’s new leadership has urged the West to ease the restrictions in order to help Syria recover from years of despotic rule and civil war.
EU diplomats told AFP the agreement should see sanctions cutting Syrian banks off from the global system and freezing central bank assets lifted.
But diplomats said the bloc was intending to impose new individual sanctions on those responsible for stirring ethnic tensions, following deadly attacks targeting the Alawite minority.
Other measures targeting the al-Assad regime and prohibiting the sale of weapons or equipment that could be used to repress civilians were set to remain in place.
The latest move from the EU comes after it took a first step in February of suspending some sanctions on key Syrian economic sectors.
Officials said those measures could be reimposed if Syria’s new leaders break promises to respect the rights of minorities and move towards democracy.
More to come…
