Syria's new Islamist rulers urge US to lift sanctions during visit to Doha

By Nayera Abdallah, Menna AlaaElDin and Andrew Mills

Syria's new Islamist rulers said on Sunday that U.S. sanctions on Syria were an obstacle to the war-torn country's rapid recovery and urged Washington to lift them during a visit by Syrian officials to Qatar.

"These sanctions constitute a barrier and an obstacle to the rapid recovery and development of the Syrian people who await services and partnerships from other countries," Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani told reporters after meeting with Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who also serves as foreign minister.

"We reiterate our calls for the United States to lift these sanctions, which have now become against the Syrian people rather than what they previously were: imposed sanctions on the Assad regime," he said.

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Shibani, on his second foreign trip less than a month after former President Bashar al-Assad was ousted by rebels on Dec. 8, said that Qatar will be a partner in the new phase in Syria.

Doha had not normalised ties with Assad over his government's violent response to 2011 protests and backed the Syrian opposition instead.

Shibani, who was joined by Syrian Defence Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra and Head of Intelligence Anas Khattab, met with other senior Qatari officials including Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Mohammed Al-Khulaifi, a Qatari official told Reuters earlier.

Shibani presented the Qataris a clear roadmap for the near future in Syria and steps that would be taken by the new Syrian administration, Al-Khulaifi told reporters after the meeting.

"We are working together to prevent any foreign interference in Syrian affairs," Al-Khulaifi added.

Shibani said the roadmap is meant to "rebuild our country, restore its Arab and foreign relations, enable the Syrian people to obtain their civil and basic rights, and present a government that the Syrian people feel it represents them and all their components."

He is expected to also visit the United Arab Emirates and Jordan this week to "support stability, security, economic recovery and build distinguished partnerships," according to his account on X.

Shibani embarked on his first foreign trip to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, less than a month since former President Bashar al-Assad was ousted by rebels on Dec. 8, where Saudi officials discussed how best to support Syria's political transition.

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