The United Kingdom has lifted some of the sanctions imposed on Syria during the regime of Bashar al-Assad.
Agencies such as AFP and Reuters reported on the 7th (local time) that the UK government has excluded 24 corporations in the financial, energy, and transport sectors from the sanctions list released the previous day. Included are the Central Bank of Syria, the Agricultural Cooperative Bank, the Commercial Bank of Syria, Syrian Arab Airlines, General Petroleum Corporation (GPC), and Syrian Oil Trading Company (SYTROL).
The UK government noted that this is to help the Syrian people rebuild their country and economy, including a political transition process led by Syrians, and added, 'We will continue to assess the actions of the Syrian transitional government.'
In Syria, last December, rebels led by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) succeeded in ousting the Assad regime, marking the end of the civil war after approximately 13 years. The Syrian transitional government has requested the West to lift sanctions, and the West is accepting the request, citing reforms and inclusive governance as conditions.
According to the Financial Times (FT), the complete lifting of the asset freeze against the Central Bank of Syria is the first by the UK. Currently, 50 corporations and over 300 individuals in Syria are on the UK government's sanctions list.
Last month, the European Union (EU) decided to temporarily suspend some sanctions against the Central Bank of Syria to promote the reconstruction of Syria. The United States continues to sanction the Central Bank of Syria.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry stated that the UK's partial lifting of sanctions is a positive step to provide urgent relief to the Syrian people and assist in the recovery process of the national economy and politics.