Ending EU sanctions on Syria relief premature for now, EU official says

"We need to discuss what more can we do. But as I say, it can't come as a blank cheque," EU's new foreign policy chief said.

By REUTERS DECEMBER 15, 2024 17:01 Updated: DECEMBER 15, 2024 17:07

European Union flags flutter outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, March 24, 2021 (photo credit: REUTERS/YVES HERMAN)

The European Union will not lift sanctions on Syria before its new rulers ensure minorities are not persecuted and women's rights are protected within a unified government that disavows religious extremism, the EU's top diplomat said.

An EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday, which had Syria on the agenda, would not discuss expanding financial support to the country beyond that already provided by the EU through United Nations agencies, the European Union's new foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said.

"One of the questions is whether we are able to, in the future, look at the adaptation of the sanctions regime. But this clearly is not the question of today, but rather in the future where we have seen that the steps go in the right direction," Kallas told Reuters in an interview.

While the EU has in place a tough sanctions regime against Syria, the rebel group that led the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad - Hayat Tahrir al-Sham - has also been under sanctions for years, complicating matters for the international community.

The EU was already the biggest donor of humanitarian aid to Syria, Kallas said.

REBELS LED by HTS capitalize on their swift takeover of Aleppo in northern Syria and Hama in the west-central region by pressing onward to Homs, in Hama, last Friday. Having pounded anti-Assad factions for years, Russia cannot expect accommodation from HTS, say the writers. (credit: REUTERS)

"We need to discuss what more can we do. But as I say, it can't come as a blank cheque," Kallas added.

She was speaking after attending a conference in Jordan on Saturday that brought together regional and Western powers to discuss Syria's post-Assad future. Diplomats agreed that protection of Syria's minorities was a major concern.

"Syria faces a hopeful but uncertain future," said Kallas, who is making her first visit to the Middle East in her new post.

Syria's new interim leaders had made "positive signals," but these were not enough, she said.

"They are judged by the deeds, not only the words. So the coming weeks and months will show whether their deeds are going to the right direction," Kallas said.

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"What everybody is looking at is, of course, the treatment of women and girls also, which shows the society and how it goes, how the institutions are built up so that there is a government that takes on board everybody," she added.

Human rights bodies say tens of thousands perished under the Assad family's authoritarian rule, and the ousted president had to be held accountable, Kallas said.

Assad's responsibility for crimes 

"It's clear that Assad has been responsible for the crimes committed in Syria, so there clearly has to be accountability," she said, and the International Criminal Court would be expected to look into how he would be prosecuted.

"Without accountability, there is no justice, and without justice, it's also very hard to build the country," she added.