European Council chief congratulates Syria’s president over EU sanctions relief

ISTANBUL

European Council President Antonio Costa congratulated Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Wednesday over the European Union’s decision to lift economic sanctions on Syria, calling it a “real opportunity for Syria’s recovery and reconstruction.”

Al-Sharaa received a phone call from Costa, the Syrian News Agency (SANA) reported.

He thanked Costa and EU member states for the decision, describing it as “a historic step that will contribute to moving the country toward a more stable future,” stressing the importance of the international community’s support for Syria at this stage, according to SANA.

Al-Sharaa said that Israeli interventions “continue to affect Syria, affirming the need for the EU to stand by Syria” to stop them.

He also welcomed European companies wishing to invest in Syria, noting that “the country today represents a promising investment opportunity and an important economic corridor between East and West,” added the agency.

Costa expressed his desire to visit Damascus and his confidence in President Al-Sharaa.

“I have stressed in the call that yesterday’s EU decision to lift economic sanctions on Syria represents a real opportunity for Syria’s recovery and reconstruction,” he said on X.

On Tuesday, the EU decided to lift its economic sanctions on Syria to support the Syrian people in rebuilding their country after over a decade of civil war.

The decision came a week after US President Donald Trump’s directive for the Treasury Department on lifting the sanctions that were imposed on Syria in 1979 and expanded after the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011.

Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia in December, ending the Baath Party regime, which had been in power since 1963.

Ahmed al-Sharaa, who led anti-regime forces to oust Assad, was declared president for a transitional period in late January.