The Trump administration takes the first steps to relieve sanctions against Syria

Washington (AP) – The Trump administration granted Syria, who have exceptions to sanctions on Friday in a big first step towards fulfillment The President's promise Half a century of punishment in a country that was destroyed by 13 years of civil war.

During the wide, the actions of the administration could possibly be reversed. Syrians say that they need a permanent relief to secure the ten billion dollars of investments that are necessary to rebuild after a conflict that fragments the country, displaced millions of people and left thousands of foreign fighter.

A measure by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs waived a difficult sanctions for six months, which was imposed by the Congress in 2019. A lawsuit by the Ministry of Finance suspended the enforcement of sanctions against people who do business with a number of Syrian people and companies, including the Syria's central bank.

Syria is now led by Ahmad al-SharaaA former militia commander who helped for many years Autocratic guide Bashar Assad From power at the end of last year.

President Donald Trump announced last week that the United States would roll back Strong financial punishments to give the preliminary government a better chance of survival.

The Trump government said that companies and investors are given protection against sanctions they need to return to Syria and give it “the opportunity for a fresh start”.

“The only other option was that Syria became a failed state and civil war,” said Mouaz Moustafa, a Syrian American lawyer who campaigned for a quick, wide relief. “Now there is hope for a future democratic Syria.”

The Congress sanctions known as Caesar Syria -Zivil Protection Act wanted to isolate the former rulers Syria by effectively exuding those who do business with them from the global financial system. They especially block post -war reconstruction. While they can be dispensed with for Executive Order for 180 days, investors are probably careful for reconstruction projects if the sanctions can be set again after six months.

The Trump administration said that the campaigns on Friday are “only part of a broader efforts by the US government to eliminate the complete architecture of the sanctions”. These punishments were imposed on the Assad family for their support from Iranian -supported militias, their program for chemical weapons and abuse by the civilian population.

Trump's administration says you expect measures from Syria

Foreign Minister Marco Rubio said in a statement on Friday that Trump in return for sanction relief “immediately expects the Syrian government's measures for important political priorities”.

Al-Sharaa's own past has fueled doubts. The group he headed, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, was originally connected to al-Qaida, even though she later waived ties and took a more moderate tone. It is still listed by the USA as a terrorist organization.

But if the government fails, the USA and others fear a new conflict in Syria and a power vacuum that could enable the rescue of the Islamic State and other extremist groups.

“If we include them, it can work, it cannot work. If we do not include them, it was guaranteed not to work,” Rubio told the legislators this week.

Trump card met al-Sharaa Last week in Saudi Arabia, one day after he announced his intention to raise the sanctions: “We decrease them all. Good luck, Syria. Show us something special.”

Rubio said that the sanctions have to be relieved quickly, since the Syria's transitional government could be “collapse and a full civil war of the epic proportions” weeks.

But asked by the legislators this week what sanction reliefs should look like, Rubio gave a declaration of one word: “Incremental”.

Moving towards permanent sanction relief

While some sanctions can quickly be avoided by executive measures such as Fridays, the congress would have to permanently remove the penalties imposed by it.

According to US officials who were familiar with the plan who were not entitled to comment publicly, a proposal this week in the distribution of administrative officials, and spoke to take as soon as possible on the condition of anonymity.

Last week, a proposal of the Foreign Ministry created a three-phase street card with a temporary, partly relief, which initially set comprehensive and Syrian conditions in order to meet for future phases of relief or permanent sanctions, said one of the officials.

The removal of “Palestinian terrorist groups” from Syria is the first on the list of conditions to get into the second phase. Followers of sanctions say that in view of the subjectivity, which groups correspond to this definition, this could be impossible and at what point they can be removed.

Other conditions for moving to the second phase are that the new government accepts custody Pick -up institutions that are Islamic state fighters And move forward to include a Kurdish group supported by the USA in the Syrian army.

In order to get into the third phase, Syria would have to connect the Abraham Agreement – normalize relationships with Israel – and to prove that it had destroyed the chemical weapons of the previous government.

Israel was suspicious of the new government, although Syrian civil servants publicly said that they did not want a conflict with Israel. Since Assad, Israel has fell hundreds of air strikes and confiscated an unpatolled buffer zone in Syria.

___

Sewell reported by Beirut. Matthew Lee and Fatima Hussein in Washington contributed to this report.