US offering conditional partial sanctions relief in Syria: Report
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Washington has dangled the prospect of partial sanctions relief in front of Damascus in return for a list of demands.
According to the Reuters news agency on Tuesday, which interviewed six different sources in both countries to confirm the move, the US wants Syrian cooperation on counterterrorism issues, the destruction of all chemical weapons stores, a prohibition on any foreign fighters joining the ranks of the interim government, and the appointment of a liaison to help track down US marine-turned-journalist Austin Tice, who has been missing in Syria for more than a decade.
For its part, the Trump administration would grant at least one two-year extension of an existing exemption that allows transactions with Syrian governing institutions. It was unclear when this might take place after Syria meets the US conditions or if the Syrians were given a deadline at all.
The US would also issue a statement supporting Syria's territorial integrity, Reuters reported.
Natasha Franceschi, a State Department official overseeing the Syria file, reportedly gave the list of US demands to Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani on the sidelines of a Syria donor conference in Brussels last week.
The US had already enacted a six-month general licence back in January to help humanitarian aid get into Syria, but it was not enough to allow entities like Qatar's government to transfer cash for Syrian government salaries.
Syria's interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has been calling for the lifting of sanctions on his country so it can invite international investment and start to rebuild after 14 years of war. The former president, Bashar al-Assad, fled to Russia in December after a swift takeover of the capital by rebel forces, whom Sharaa was leading.
That month, of the 50 people named to key defence posts, Sharaa included six foreign fighters, Reuters reported at the time. The decision alarmed many who were sceptical of Sharaa's plans and worried that Syria's minorities would be under threat.
Hundreds of minority Alawites in the west of the country were killed this month after Assad loyalists - typically also Alawites - reportedly attacked the new government's security forces.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a statement at the time condemning "radical Islamist terrorists, including foreign jihadis".
Sharaa, known previously as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, was the leader of an al-Qaeda offshoot in Idlib, in Syria's northwest. The area was rebel-held territory from 2015 until this past December, when the rebels advanced to oust Assad.
