DAMASCUS: Syria is unable to make deals to import fuel, wheat or other key goods due to strict US sanctions and despite many countries, including Gulf Arab states, wanting to do so, Syria’s new trade minister said.
In an interview with Reuters at his office in Damascus, Maher Khalil Al-Hasan said Syria’s new ruling administration had managed to scrape together enough wheat and fuel for a few months but the country faces a “catastrophe” if sanctions are not frozen or lifted soon.
Hasan is a member of the new caretaker government set up by Islamist rebel group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham after it launched a lightning offensive that toppled autocratic President Bashar Assad on Dec. 8 after 13 years of civil war.
The sanctions were imposed during Assad’s rule, targeting his government and also state institutions such as the central bank.
Russia and Iran, both major backers of the Assad government, previously provided most of Syria’s wheat and oil products but both stopped doing so after the rebels triumphed and Assad fled to Moscow.
The US is set to announce an easing of restrictions on providing humanitarian aid and other basic services such as electricity to Syria while maintaining its strict sanctions regime, people briefed on the matter told Reuters on Monday.
The exact impact of the expected measures remains to be seen.
The decision by the outgoing Biden administration aims to send a signal of goodwill to Syria’s people and its new Islamist rulers, and pave the way for improving basic services and living conditions in the war-ravaged country.
At the same time, US officials see the sanctions as a key point of leverage with a new ruling group that was designated a terrorist entity by Washington several years ago but which, after breaking with Islamist militant group Al Qaeda, has recently signalled a more moderate approach.
Washington wants to see Damascus embark on an inclusive political transition and to cooperate on counterterrorism and other matters.
Hasan told Reuters he was aware of reports that some sanctions may soon be eased or frozen.
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Syria unable to import wheat or fuel due to US sanctions, trade minister says
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Syria unable to import wheat or fuel due to US sanctions, trade minister says
- The sanctions were imposed during Assad’s rule, targeting his government and also state institutions such as the central bank
US expected to unveil post-war Gaza leadership
- International 'Board of Peace' is meant to govern Gaza for a transitional period as part of peace plan
- The 14-member Palestinian body will be headed by Ali Shaath, a former deputy minister in the Palestinian Authority
CAIRO: US President Donald Trump is expected on Wednesday to push ahead with his phased plan for Gaza’s future by announcing the administration that will run the war-ravaged Palestinian territory, four Palestinian sources said.
Israel and Hamas in October signed off on Trump’s 20-point plan which says that a technocratic Palestinian body overseen by an international “Board of Peace” is meant to govern Gaza for a transitional period. It is not to include Hamas representation.
The 14-member Palestinian body will be headed by Ali Shaath, a former deputy minister in the Western-backed Palestinian Authority who had been in charge of developing industrial zones, the Palestinian sources said.
Other members tapped by Nickolay Mladenov, the former UN Middle East envoy who is expected to represent the Board of Peace on the ground, include people from the private sector and NGOS, according a list of the names obtained by Reuters.
PHASE TWO OF GAZA PLAN
The first phase of Trump’s plan, which included a ceasefire and hostage release deal, has been shaken by issues including Israeli airstrikes in Gaza that have killed hundreds of people, a refusal by Hamas to disarm, the remains of one last Israeli hostage still not having been returned and Israeli delays in reopening Gaza’s Rafah border crossing with Egypt.
Although the two sides accuse each other of breaching the deal, Trump says he wants to move on to the second phase, a progression that would entail the establishment of the Board of Peace and a yet-to-be-agreed deployment of peacekeeping forces.
Hamas leaders and other Palestinian factions are in Cairo for talks on the second phase, the group said. Egyptian sources said talks with Hamas would now focus on the group’s disarmament.
Hamas has so far not agreed to lay down its weapons, saying it will only give up its weapons once there is a Palestinian state. Further Israeli withdrawals within Gaza are tied to disarmament.
Members of the technocratic Palestinian committee were expected to meet with Mladenov in Cairo on Wednesday. Hamas and its rival Fatah group, led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, have both endorsed the list of members, Egyptian and Palestinian sources said.
It will also include the head of the Gaza Chamber of Commerce Ayed Abu Ramadan and Omar Shamali, who has worked for the Palestinian Telecommunication Group PALTEL, the Palestinian sources said.
Israeli officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Israel and Hamas in October signed off on Trump’s 20-point plan which says that a technocratic Palestinian body overseen by an international “Board of Peace” is meant to govern Gaza for a transitional period. It is not to include Hamas representation.
The 14-member Palestinian body will be headed by Ali Shaath, a former deputy minister in the Western-backed Palestinian Authority who had been in charge of developing industrial zones, the Palestinian sources said.
Other members tapped by Nickolay Mladenov, the former UN Middle East envoy who is expected to represent the Board of Peace on the ground, include people from the private sector and NGOS, according a list of the names obtained by Reuters.
PHASE TWO OF GAZA PLAN
The first phase of Trump’s plan, which included a ceasefire and hostage release deal, has been shaken by issues including Israeli airstrikes in Gaza that have killed hundreds of people, a refusal by Hamas to disarm, the remains of one last Israeli hostage still not having been returned and Israeli delays in reopening Gaza’s Rafah border crossing with Egypt.
Although the two sides accuse each other of breaching the deal, Trump says he wants to move on to the second phase, a progression that would entail the establishment of the Board of Peace and a yet-to-be-agreed deployment of peacekeeping forces.
Hamas leaders and other Palestinian factions are in Cairo for talks on the second phase, the group said. Egyptian sources said talks with Hamas would now focus on the group’s disarmament.
Hamas has so far not agreed to lay down its weapons, saying it will only give up its weapons once there is a Palestinian state. Further Israeli withdrawals within Gaza are tied to disarmament.
Members of the technocratic Palestinian committee were expected to meet with Mladenov in Cairo on Wednesday. Hamas and its rival Fatah group, led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, have both endorsed the list of members, Egyptian and Palestinian sources said.
It will also include the head of the Gaza Chamber of Commerce Ayed Abu Ramadan and Omar Shamali, who has worked for the Palestinian Telecommunication Group PALTEL, the Palestinian sources said.
Israeli officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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