UNSC votes to drop sanctions on Syria’s al-Sharaa ahead of Washington visit

Fourteen members of the UN Security Council voted successful favour of the US-drafted resolution. China abstained.

The United Nations Security Council has voted to region sanctions connected Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and his Interior Minister Anas Khattab pursuing a solution championed by the United States.

In a mostly symbolic move, the UNSC delisted the Syrian authorities officials from the ISIL (ISIS) and al-Qaeda sanctions list, successful a solution approved by 14 assembly members connected Thursday. China abstained.

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The ceremonial lifting of sanctions connected al-Sharaa is mostly symbolic, arsenic they were waived each clip helium needed to question extracurricular of Syria successful his relation arsenic the country’s leader. An assets frost and arms embargo volition besides beryllium lifted.

Al-Sharaa led absorption fighters who overthrew President Bashar al-Assad’s authorities successful December. His group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), began an offensive connected November 27, 2024, reaching Damascus successful lone 12 days, resulting successful the extremity of the al-Assad family’s 53-year reign.

The collapse of the al-Assad family’s regularisation has been described arsenic a historical infinitesimal – nearly 14 years aft Syrians roseate successful peaceful protests against a authorities that met them with unit that rapidly spiralled into a bloody civilian war.

HTS had been connected the UNSC’s ISIL and al-Qaeda sanctions database since May 2014.

Since coming to power, al-Sharaa has called connected the US to formally assistance sanctions connected his country, saying the sanctions imposed connected the erstwhile Syrian enactment were nary longer justified.

US President Donald Trump met the Syrian president successful the Saudi capital, Riyadh, successful May and ordered astir sanctions lifted. However, the astir stringent sanctions were imposed by Congress nether the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act successful 2019 and volition necessitate a legislature ballot to region them permanently.

In a bipartisan statement, the apical Democrat and Republican connected the Senate Foreign Relations Committee welcomed the UN enactment Thursday and said it was present Congress’s crook to enactment to “bring the Syrian system into the 21st century”.

We “are actively moving with the medication and our colleagues successful Congress to repeal Caesar sanctions”, Senators Jim Risch and Jeanne Shaheen said successful a connection up of the vote. “It’s clip to prioritize reconstruction, stability, and a way guardant alternatively than isolation that lone deepens hardship for Syrians.”

Al-Sharaa plans to conscionable with Trump successful Washington adjacent week, the archetypal sojourn by a Syrian president to Washington since the state gained independency successful 1946.

While Israel and Syria stay formally successful a authorities of war, with Israel inactive occupying Syria’s Golan Heights, Trump has expressed anticipation that the 2 countries tin normalise relations.