BRUSSELS: The European Union will suspend sanctions on Syria’s banking, energy and transport sectors Monday, diplomats said, in a bid to help the country’s reconstruction after the ouster of Bashar Assad.
Syria’s new leaders have been clamouring for the West to ease sanctions on the country imposed to target Assad’s regime during the civil war.
But Europe and other powers have been reluctant to move before clear signals from the new Islamist-led rulers in Damascus that they are serious on having an inclusive transition.
The step due to be greenlit at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels is a formal move after the bloc struck a preliminary accord last month to suspend sanctions in key areas.
Diplomats talking on Friday said the sanctions could be reimposed if Syria’s new leaders break promises to respect the rights of minorities and move toward democracy.
The United Nations said on Thursday that at current growth rates, Syria would need more than 50 years to get back to its economic level before the outbreak of its devastating civil war.
Much of Syria’s infrastructure was destroyed and the country’s economy ravaged by years of international isolation after Assad’s 2011 crackdown on opposition sparked the civil war.
The EU and other international powers are jostling for influence in Syria after the ouster of Assad, who was backed by Russia and Iran.