Certain sanctions against Syria “could be lifted quickly”, declared the head of French diplomacy Jean-Noël Barrot on Wednesday on France inter radio.
“There are the sanctions which targeted Bashar al-Assad and the executioners of his regime, these sanctions obviously have no intention of being lifted. Then there are others which today hinder access to humanitarian aid, which prevents the recovery of the country and these could be lifted quickly”, he declared.
“Finally, there are others, and we are discussing them with our European partners, which could be lifted but obviously depending on the pace at which our security expectations for Syria are taken into account,” he added. .
Germany is also in favor of easing certain European sanctions against Syria, diplomatic sources in Berlin said on Tuesday.
Washington, for its part, announced last week a temporary reduction in sanctions against Syria so as to “not hinder” the provision of essential services.
Mr. Barrot and his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock went to Damascus on Friday, where they met the new Syrian leader, the Islamist Ahmad al-Chareh.
“We have asked that the political transition be well representative of all components of Syrian society, and in particular women. And I note that yesterday it was announced that the committee established for national dialogue will include women. was an express request on our part, it was satisfied,” he said.
“What I hope is that Syria succeeds. This is the whole point of this national dialogue which will open,” he said.
