The UK unfroze the assets of Syria’s central bank and lifted sanctions on multiple oil groups and commercial lenders in the country, providing a lifeline to the devastated economy and its new rulers as they seek to mend ties with the west.
The interim government of President Ahmed al-Sharaa — who led the Islamist rebel offensive that toppled Bashar al-Assad in December following a 13-year civil war — has sought sanctions relief from western nations, which have predicated any concessions on evidence of reforms and inclusive governance.
The UK is the first country to entirely unfreeze assets of the Central Bank of Syria, which has continued importing banknotes printed by Assad’s ally Russia after sanctions left it with few other options and a painful liquidity crisis.
State-owned oil companies, private banks and an airline hit with sanctions for their ties to the Assad regime were also among the 24 entities removed from the UK sanctions list.
“This approach underscores our commitment to help the people of Syria rebuild their country and economy, including through support for a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political transition process,” the UK said on Thursday. “We will continue to judge Syria’s interim authorities by their actions, not their words.”
Syria’s new authorities have repeatedly called for western countries to lift the sweeping restrictions introduced to isolate Assad’s government after the civil war started in 2011. They must now grapple with a crushing crisis caused by the sanctions, conflict and the former regime’s corruption and pillaging of the economy.
Western states have largely taken a wait-and-see approach, saying they will judge the new rulers on their actions. Syria’s new government is dominated by former members of Sharaa’s militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. HTS, an offshoot of a former al-Qaeda affiliate, is still designated as a terrorist organisation by the US, UN and others.
The west has sought to retain some leverage over the new leadership by making sanctions relief contingent on certain reforms and the protection of minority and women’s rights.
The EU in February suspended sanctions on the Syrian energy and transport sectors and partially removed restrictions on the central bank. It also unfroze the funds of four banks and an airline. The US in January waived a ban on transactions with Syrian governing institutions and energy sales, a move Washington said was meant to allow humanitarian assistance, but kept sanctions in place.
Sharaa has previously vowed to form an inclusive government, but missed a self-imposed March 1 deadline to appoint a new, transitional government after holding a rushed “national dialogue” to consult on the country’s political future.
Analysts say that without a US decision to reverse its own sanctions on Syrian entities, the impact of the European and UK moves would be limited.
“I don’t think that the UK could override US sanctions on the central bank, especially during the Trump era,” said Samir Aita, a Syrian economist and president of the Circle of Arab Economists.
He said that the wide reach of US sanctions would dissuade third parties such as Qatar from engaging. “Any company, any bank is very much afraid of working with Syria anyway.”
Fifty entities and more than 300 individuals remain on the UK’s Syria sanctions list. Syria’s interim government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.