Germany has advocated a relaxation of some EU sanctions against Syria following the ouster of long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad as Saudi Arabia hosted Sunday an international conference on the situation in the war-shattered country.
“We as an international community must not let the chance of a future for Syria pass us by, despite all the justified scepticism. That is why we in Germany and Europe are now taking the first concrete steps,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on the sidelines of the conference in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh.
Sanctions against members of al-Assad’s regime, who committed serious crimes during the civil war, would have to be maintained, she said.
But the German government is proposing a “smart approach” to the European Union to support the Syrian population quickly, ensuring that there is food to eat and more electricity every day so that reconstruction can begin, she added.
“All of this promotes stability and ensures a peaceful transfer of power,” Baerbock said.
The EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who also attended the conference, wrote on X that the bloc would look into how to ease sanctions.
“But this must follow tangible progress in a political transition that reflects Syria in all its diversity,” she added.
The EU imposed sanctions against Syria in response to the government’s violent crackdown on the civilian population in 2011.
These are directed against the now overthrown government and its supporters, as well as against economic sectors from which the government profited.
They include, for example, a ban on investments in the Syrian oil industry and in companies involved in the construction of new power plants for electricity generation in the country, a ban on the import of crude oil from Syria, an arms embargo and further export restrictions.
Saudi Arabia calls for end of sanctions
Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Sunday called for lifting the international sanctions on Syria.
“Continuing them will hamper the brotherly Syrian people’s ambitions to fulfil development and rebuilding,” he said in a press briefing at the end of the one-day gathering.
In addition to Kallas, Baerbock and other Western representatives, participants in the conference included foreign ministers from Syria’s neighbouring countries – Turkey, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon – as well as those of Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.
Syria’s interim foreign minister, Hassan al-Shibani, was also present.
Among other topics, they discussed the political process for the lasting stabilization of Syria, the humanitarian situation and the country’s reconstruction.
The Saudi minister said the participants welcomed the “positive” steps taken by Syria’s new administration in preserving the state institutions, initiating an inclusive political process in Syria and commitment to terrorism combat.
Syria has been in a phase of political reorientation since the Islamist rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) led a surprise rebel offensive that resulted in the overthrow of al-Assad last month after almost 14 years of civil war.
Al-Assad, who ruled Syria for more than two decades, fled the country to Russia after the rebels advanced on the capital Damascus.
HTS is now leading an interim government, which is being watched closely abroad, in particular for how it deals with the rights of women and religious minorities.
Meanwhile, fighting continues, especially in the north of the country, where Kurdish militias are fighting Turkish-backed groups.
Baerbock pledges further humanitarian support
Baerbock also announced in Riyadh that Germany is to provide an additional €50 million ($51 million) in humanitarian aid for Syria.
The money, to be disbursed to the UN World Food Programme and various non-governmental organizations, is to be used for food, emergency shelter and medical care, she said.
“The people in the various regions urgently need an improvement in their living conditions for the all-important political transition to take place,” Baerbock said.
She also repeated her call for the crimes of the al-Assad regime to be addressed.
The Syrian civil war has had devastating consequences for the country’s people, infrastructure and economy, with 16 million people now in need of humanitarian aid and 70% of the population living in poverty.
The economy has shrunk by 85% since 2011 and it is estimated that reconstruction could cost between $250 billion and $400 billion.
The Riyadh gathering underlined the importance of continued humanitarian and economic support to Syria and help create “the suitable environment” for the Syrian refugees’s repatriation, according to the Saudi foreign minister.
Around 13 million people have been displaced within the country or fled abroad.
The talks in Riyadh looked into steps to support the Syrians “at this important stage of their history, and help them rebuild Syria as a unified, independent and safe Arab state for all its citizens, with no place for terrorism, no breach of its sovereignty or aggression on its territorial integrity from any party,” the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
