Reuters: Washington handed the Syrian Foreign Minister a list of conditions in exchange for easing sanctions
According to Reuters, who quoted an informed source, that the United States has presented Syria with a list of conditions in exchange for partial sanctions relief, including ensuring that foreigners don’t hold senior positions within the Syrian army or government structure.
According to the report, Natasha Franceschi, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Levant and Syria Affairs, delivered the list to Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al Shibani during a face-to-face meeting on the sidelines of a donor conference on Syria in Brussels on March 18.
This meeting marks the first high-level contact between Washington and Damascus since US President Donald Trump took office on January 20.
According to sources who included US officials, a knowledgeable Syrian source, a regional diplomat, and two sources in Washington, the US conditions included several demands, including the destruction of any remaining chemical weapons stockpile and cooperation in combating terrorism.
The demands also include a ban on the appointment of foreign fighters to leadership positions, following previous appointments that raised international concern, including those of Uyghur, Jordanian, and Turkish fighters in the Syrian Ministry of Defense.
Washington also demanded the appointment of a Syrian official to cooperate in the search for American journalist Austin Tice, who has been missing in Syria for more than a decade.
Sources confirmed that implementing these conditions could lead to the easing of some sanctions imposed on Syria, without providing details of this easing or the timeframe for implementing the conditions.
