Associates of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked US President Donald Trump to keep part of the US sanctions against Syria in order to use them as a bargaining chip in future negotiations, but the request was rejected, reports public broadcaster Khan.
The US Congress introduced the so-called “Caesar sanctions” on the Syrian government and financial system in 2019 to punish then-Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for human rights abuses during the country’s nearly 14-year civil war that began in 2011.
After Assad was ousted a year ago, advocates for lifting the sanctions argued that the sanctions were preventing international investors from launching reconstruction projects and blocking Syria from rebuilding its devastated economy and infrastructure.
Trump, who previously temporarily lifted the sanctions through an executive order, signed the final repeal on Thursday after Congress approved it as part of the annual defense bill.
The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement on Friday, thanked the US for the lifting of sanctions and stressed that it “will contribute to easing the burden on the Syrian people and pave the way for a new phase of reconstruction and stability.”
Khan reports that close associates of Netanyahu have been putting strong pressure on Trump administration officials responsible for the Syrian issue to keep some of the sanctions in place. Among the officials addressed were US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, son-in-law of the US President.
The outlet reported that the Trump administration had promised Israel unspecified “compensation” for the lifting of sanctions. Trump expressed hope for a diplomatic agreement between Israel and Syria.
(Vijesti.ba)
