Syria welcomes EU’s decision to lift sanctions, calls it ‘historic victory’

ISTANBUL

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani welcomed a decision by the European Union on Tuesday to lift economic sanctions against his country, calling it “a new historic achievement” for the Syrian people.

“We, together with our people, have achieved a historic victory through the lifting of EU sanctions on Syria,” Shaibani wrote on X.

He thanked EU member states and all parties involved in “this victory.”

Al-Shaibani said the move will strengthen “security, stability and prosperity in Syria,” adding that “Syria deserves a bright future worthy of its people and civilization.”

His comments followed an announcement earlier in the day by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.

“Today, we took the decision to lift our economic sanctions on Syria. We want to help the Syrian people rebuild a new, inclusive and peaceful Syria,” she said on X.

The US Treasury Department said last week that it was working with the State Department and the National Security Council to implement directives from President Donald Trump regarding the lifting of sanctions on Syria. The US began imposing sanctions on Syria in 1979 and expanded them significantly after the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011.

Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia on Dec. 8, 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.