Reuters news agency quoted informed sources as saying that the United States has handed over the Syrian government a list of conditions that Damascus wanted to fulfill in exchange for a partial reduction in the sanctions, including ensuring that foreigners do not assume leadership positions in the government.
The agency said that two of its sources, one of whom is an American official and the second is a Syrian source, reported that Natasha Franceski, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Levant and Syria, handed over the list of demands to the Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al -Shaibani in a special meeting on the sidelines of the Conference of donors for Syria in the Belgian capital, Brussels, on March 18.
No news has been published on this list or about the private meeting, which is the first high -level direct contact between Damascus and Washington since US President Donald Trump took office on January 20 last.
Reuters reported that it spoke to 6 sources, who are an American official, a Syrian source, a diplomat from the region and two sources familiar with Washington, adding that all of them refused to mention their names about the fact that talking about high -level diplomatic affairs.
Chemical and terrorism
According to the agency, the two US officials, the Syrian source and the two exporters in Washington said that among the conditions set by the United States is to destroy Syria for any remaining chemical weapons stores and cooperation in combating terrorism.
Among the other demands, the two American officials and one of the exporters in Washington added that among the other demands is to ensure that foreign fighters do not take leadership positions in the ruling administration in Syria.
The agency claimed that the Syrian government “appointed some of the foreigners who were previously in the ranks of the opposition, including Igori, Jordanian and Turkish, in the Ministry of Defense in a move that raised the concern of foreign governments.”
According to American officials and exporters in Washington, Washington also asked Syria to appoint a calling coordinator to support American efforts to find Austin Tays, the American journalist who had been lost in Syria more than 10 years ago.
The 6 sources reported that, in exchange for meeting all demands, Washington will partially reduce the sanctions. The sources did not specify the type of mitigation provided, and said that Washington did not provide a specific timetable to meet these conditions.
The agency said that the Syrian and American foreign ministries have not yet received requests for comment.
It is noteworthy that Syria desperately needed to reduce sanctions to revive its collapsed economy due to the war that lasted for nearly 14 years, during which the United States, Britain and Europe imposed severe sanctions on individuals and companies and full sectors of the Syrian economy in an attempt to pressure the ousted President Bashar al -Assad.
Some of these sanctions were suspended temporarily, but the effect of this was limited. The United States issued a public license for a period of 6 months in January to facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid, but this step was not sufficient to allow the State of Qatar to pay public sector salaries through the Central Bank of Syria.
Syrian officials, including Al -Shaibani and President Ahmed Al -Shara, called for the entire sanctions, saying that it was injustice to keep them valid after the lion was overthrown in a kidnapped attack by opposition militants last December.
(Tagstotranslate) The Americas (T) (T) the United States of America (T) Syria (T) Arabic