On Monday, the United States issued a six-month sanctions waiver for transactions with government institutions in Syria, intended to facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid. However, this does not mean the complete removal of sanctions from Syrian state institutions or the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group, which, together with coalition groups, overthrew the regime of Bashar al-Assad.
Ministry of Finance USA announced a six-month suspension of some sanctions against Syria. As Deputy Minister Wally Adeyemo noted in a statement, the decision was dictated by the desire to support the Syrian political transformation after the fall of the regime.
– End the brutal and repressive rule of Bashar al-Assad supported by Russia and Iran gives Syria and its people a unique opportunity to rebuild. During this transition period, Treasury will continue to support humanitarian assistance and responsible governance in Syria, he said.
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The decision extends the scope of permitted transactions related to Syria for six months and is intended to ensure that “sanctions do not prevent the provision of key services and the continuation of state functions, including the provision of electricity, energy, water and sanitation functions.”
Sanctions on the central bank and HTS maintained
However, the announced license does not remove sanctions from the Syrian central bank and other state institutions, nor from members of Assad's authorities, nor from the Islamist organization HTS, whose leader, Ahmed al-Shara, is the new de facto leader of the country.
Syria is one of the countries most subject to US sanctions in the world, including: due to the fact that it is one of four countries recognized as a country supporting terrorism. Syria has been on this list since 1979 and was included during the rule of Hafez al-Assad, the father of the president deposed in December.
As a result of the civil war that lasted over a decade, the country was almost completely destroyed. Today, almost 90 percent of the ethnically and culturally complex Syrian society lives in poverty and extreme poverty.
Main photo source: EPA/BILAL ALHAMMOUD