For 6 months.. Washington eases sanctions imposed on Syria

The US Treasury Department announced on Monday that it would ease sanctions on Syria for a period of 6 months, with the aim of facilitating the continuation of basic services in the country.

The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a general license allowing relief organizations and companies to provide essential services to Syria, such as electricity, water, and sanitation, without having to obtain approval for each individual application.

The license also allows transactions that support the sale, supply, storage or donation of energy, including petroleum, natural gas and electricity, within Syria, according to a statement from the ministry.

The license also authorizes transactions necessary to process non-commercial personal transfers to Syria, including transfers through the Central Bank of Syria.

The US Treasury said that "the license will last for 6 months, during which the United States will continue to monitor the situation on the ground."

According to the statement, US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said, "The end of Bashar al-Assad's brutal and oppressive rule, supported by Russia and Iran, provides a unique opportunity for Syria and its people to rebuild."

He explained that "during the transitional period, the Treasury Department will continue to support humanitarian assistance and responsible governance in Syria," according to the same statement.

On December 8, 2024, Syrian factions took control of the capital, Damascus, days after taking control of other cities, ending 61 years of the bloody Baath Party regime and 53 years of the Assad family’s rule.

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 new government to manage a transitional phase.

According to information obtained by Anadolu Agency from the US State and Treasury Departments, sanctions on Syria began in December 1979, when Syria was classified as a "state sponsor of terrorism."

These sanctions have imposed a ban on defense exports and sales, some controls on the export of dual-use products for both civilian and military purposes, and various financial restrictions.

In May 2004, additional restrictions on imports and exports were implemented with the implementation of the US law, the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act.

With the outbreak of the civil war in Syria in 2011, the sanctions became more comprehensive, and the main lines of these sanctions were a trade embargo on the energy and financial sectors that provide income to the Bashar al-Assad regime, freezing the assets of senior officials and preventing American companies from dealing with Syria.

The scope of the sanctions was expanded with the issuance of the “Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act” (named after a defected regime employee nicknamed “Caesar” who leaked photos of people killed under torture), which was signed by former US President Donald Trump in December 2019 and went into effect in June 2020.

US sanctions have targeted the construction and energy sectors, and the Syrian Central Bank has also been a target of sanctions imposed on the government in order to hinder the Assad regime's financial capacity.

It is noteworthy that the US "Caesar Sanctions" against Syria were recently extended for another 5 years until 2029.

Anatolia