Syria’s new Islamist rulers said on Sunday that US sanctions on Syria were hindering the war-torn country’s swift recovery and called on Washington to lift them during a visit by Syrian officials to Qatar.
“These sanctions are a barrier to the rapid recovery and development of the Syrian people, who are waiting for services and partnerships from other countries,” Syria’s Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani told reporters after meeting Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who also serves as foreign minister.
“We reiterate our calls for the United States to lift these sanctions, which have now become against the Syrian people, rather than the previous sanctions on the Assad regime,” he added.
Shibani, who is on his second foreign trip less than a month after the ousting of former President Bashar al-Assad by rebels on December 8, said that Qatar will be a partner in Syria’s new phase.
Qatar had not normalized relations with Assad due to his government’s violent response to the 2011 protests and had supported the Syrian opposition instead.
Shibani, accompanied by Syrian Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra and Head of Intelligence Anas Khattab, also met with other senior Qatari officials, including Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Mohammed Al-Khulaifi, a Qatari official told Reuters earlier.
Shibani presented the Qataris with a clear roadmap for Syria’s near future and the steps to be taken by the new Syrian administration, Al-Khulaifi said after the meeting.
“We are working together to prevent any foreign interference in Syrian affairs,” Al-Khulaifi added.
Shibani explained that the roadmap aims to “rebuild our country, restore its Arab and foreign relations, enable the Syrian people to obtain their civil and basic rights, and present a government that represents them and all their components.”
He is expected to visit the United Arab Emirates and Jordan this week to “support stability, security, economic recovery, and build distinguished partnerships,” according to his post on X.
Shibani had embarked on his first foreign trip to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, less than a month after the ousting of Assad, where Saudi officials discussed how best to support Syria’s political transition.
