BEHIND THE LINES: US special envoy calls for lifting Syria sanctions, but concerns grow over ongoing sectarian violence and the treatment of minority communities under Assad.
US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack this week called for the repeal of the remaining US sanctions on Syria. Writing on his X account, Barrack contended: “The US Senate has already demonstrated foresight by voting to repeal the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act – sanctions that served its moral purpose against the previous, treacherous Assad regime but now suffocates a nation seeking to rebuild.”
The US envoy expressed his support for the “completion” of this “act of statesmanship,” suggesting that the removal of all remaining sanctions on Syria would grant the Syrian people the “right to work, trade, and hope.”
Barrack’s statement is the latest indication of current US policy on Syria, confirming that Washington appears committed to removing the remaining tools of coercion against the emergent regime of President Ahmed al-Sharaa and the Sunni Islamist Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) organization. The prospect of removing the remaining sanctions could have been used by Washington to ensure appropriate treatment by Damascus of its Syrian minority communities. This now seems unlikely. (Read More)
