EU ministers agree on gradual easing of Syria sanctions

EU member states have reached a "political agreement" on a gradual easing of sanctions against Syria, the EU's high representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, announced on Monday.
"This will boost the Syrian economy and help the country recover," Kallas said after a meeting with foreign ministers of the 27 member states in Brussels. However, she stressed that the planned easing could be reversed if the situation in the country deteriorates.
"This will boost the Syrian economy and help the country recover"
The EU has imposed a series of sanctions since the start of the civil war and the crackdown by president Bashar al-Assad's regime on a popular uprising in 2011. But after Assad's fall in December, the EU wants to give the new rulers the benefit of the doubt.
Ministers agreed on a "roadmap" and a "step-by-step" approach to easing sanctions. While no specific sectors were named, priority would be given to those sanctions that "most hinder" the country's reconstruction.
Negotiations have focused on the suspension of sanctions on energy, transport and financial services. Relaxation of sanctions on arms is currently ruled out, Kallas said.
Belgium's Hadja Lahbib, the commissioner for equal opportunities and crisis management, spoke earlier this month with Ahmed al-Sharaa, the new leader of the Islamist rebels against Assad.
"He was very reassuring about inclusiveness, respect for human rights and women's rights, but it is clear that only actions count," Lahbib said on Monday.
Violence continues
Violence in the country has not subsided. The NGO Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Monday that Syrian fighters linked to the new government had executed 35 people, mostly officers of the Assad regime, in the past three days.
According to the Observatory, local armed groups have taken advantage of "the chaos, the abundance of weapons and their links to the new authorities" to settle old scores with Alawites, the minority ethno-religious group to which Assad belonged.
Also on Monday, several sources confirmed that Atta al-Hariri, the leader of a local militia of the Islamic State terrorist organisation, had been arrested in the country. After his arrest, al-Hariri was handed over to security forces in Damascus.
European commissioner for Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib and Syria's new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa © PHOTO SANA / AFP
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