
UK lifts sanctions on Syria, says country deserves chance to rebuild economy
The UK government has said it is lifting sanctions against a dozen Syrian entities, including government departments and media outlets, to help the country rebuild after President Bashar al-Assad was toppled in a lightning rebel offensive in December.
The UK had put the sanctions in place against those who supported Assad's repressive rule, helped violently suppress civilians and spread misinformation.
"The Syrian people deserve the opportunity to rebuild their country and economy and a stable Syria is in the UK's national interest," Hamish Falconer, minister for the Middle East, said in a statement.
Syria's new leaders have struggled to begin rebuilding the country's decimated economy and infrastructure after nearly 14 years of civil war.
The new authorities in Damascus have made a push for harsh sanctions imposed by western countries on Assad's government to be lifted, with limited success.
Syrians commemorate the seventh anniversary of a chemical attack in the town of Douma, 7 April, 2025
AP Photo
Financial sanctions and asset freezes were lifted on several government agencies, including the ministries of interior and defence, the UK Foreign Office said.
Sanctions were also dropped against the General Organization of Radio and TV, a state-run agency that allegedly spread propaganda for Assad and incited violence against civilians.
The Foreign Office said it also lifted sanctions against Al Watan, a newspaper, Cham Press TV, and Sama TV, for spreading misinformation.
Sanctions imposed against al-Assad and associates remain in place and legislation was amended to allow the former leader and others to be held accountable for atrocities committed against Syrians.
In March, the UK dropped sanctions against two dozen Syrian businesses, mostly banks and oil companies.
The Trump administration has yet to formally recognise the new Syrian government led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa, an Islamist former insurgent who led the offensive that ousted al-Assad.
Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa during a press conference in Ankara, 4 February, 2025
AP Photo
The militant group al-Sharaa led, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), remains a US-designated terrorist organisation and the sanctions imposed on Damascus under al-Assad remain in place.
However, Washington has eased some restrictions.
In January, the US Treasury issued a general licence, lasting six months, that authorises certain transactions with the Syrian government, including some energy sales and incidental transactions.
The European Union, meanwhile, has begun to ease some energy and transport sanctions and banking restrictions against Syria, suspending measures targeting oil, gas and electricity as well as transport, including the aviation sector.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

LeMonde
3 hours ago
- LeMonde
Dutch far-right voters waver between doubt and conviction ahead of October elections
This is the city of "Henk and Ingrid." These are the names of two fictional characters created by far-right leader Geert Wilders to personify an average Dutch couple – the people he has promised to defend against "the system," "the elite," "the left-wing clerics," and, of course, foreigners. In Spijkenisse, a city of around 73,000 residents located in the suburbs of Rotterdam and the main entity in the newly merged municipality of Nissewaard, Wilders' Party for Freedom (PVV, far-right) achieved a record result in the 2023 parliamentary elections with 38% of the vote. The PVV became the leading party in the Netherlands, winning 37 out of 150 seats in the Tweede Kamer ("Second Chamber," the lower house of parliament), and subsequently formed a government. Their government has since proven to be a chaotic experiment: The coalition led by Prime Minister Dick Schoof collapsed in June after just 336 days in power following a crisis triggered by Wilders, who was frustrated with his three coalition partners' refusal to endorse his platform. Among other measures, the platform included declaring a state of emergency to halt immigration, deporting 60,000 Syrian refugees and putting an end to all family reunification. In Spijkenisse, a city that was long considered one of the poorest in the Netherlands but which now strives to attract middle-class residents who are moving away from downtown Rotterdam, a couple of retirees we met at the shopping center were not named Henk and Ingrid, but Nico and Caroline. They spoke while strolling between a nail salon, discount stores and a fast-food kebab restaurant. "Wilders wanted to defend ordinary people, but he did nothing, achieved nothing before bringing down the government!" said Nico. Did he vote for the PVV? Nico, a former Rotterdam port worker, would not say, but he asserted that Wilders would "for sure" not get his vote on October 29, the date when the country will hold new parliamentary elections. As for Caroline, she no longer intends to vote. "All that circus for nothing," she said with a sigh. On the local level, Spijkenisse has always been politically dominated by a local group named Ons ("We"), which holds 10 of the 37 seats on the municipal council (compared to three for the PVV).

LeMonde
4 hours ago
- LeMonde
Merz and Macron discuss NATO and EU-US trade issues
French President Emmanuel Macron met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin on Wednesday, July 23, as they sought to present a united front on the US-EU trade row, NATO security and other pressing issues. Macron and Merz, who took power in May, have been at pains to boost the partnership at the heart of the European Union as US President Donald Trump has rocked transatlantic ties. Macron said bilateral "convergence (...) whether it concerns defense, security, the energy transition, or artificial intelligence and quantum technology, is absolutely key to gaining efficiency, critical mass and cooperation." Paris and Berlin, along with London and Warsaw, have pushed efforts to support Ukraine against Russia and build up the defense capabilities of NATO's European member states. Merz and Macron during their working dinner were also to discuss the EU-US trade dispute after Trump threatened 30% tariffs against the bloc if no deal is reached by August 1. Greeting Macron, Merz voiced optimism, saying that, as senior-level talks were being held, "we are hearing in these minutes that there could possibly be decisions." Macron emphasized the shared European desire "to provide stability and have the lowest possible tariffs, but also, of course, to be respected as the partners that we are." 'Energy restart' The two leaders also have to discuss several bilateral stumbling blocks, ranging from joint defense projects to energy. There has been disagreement over a combat aircraft to be made jointly by France, Germany and Spain. The head of French defense company Dassault, Eric Trappier, suggested on Tuesday that the viability of the project was in doubt. Merz said that they would talk "about common foreign and security policy, and we will talk about the joint projects that we both discussed some time ago and on which we are working intensively." Another tricky area is energy: France relies heavily on nuclear power, which Germany has decided to phase out as it shifts increasingly to solar and wind. Paris wants Berlin to commit to "technology neutrality" and effectively classify nuclear energy as climate-friendly. Germany's previous coalition government of the Social Democrats and Greens rejected this, but Merz's centze-right CDU/CSU may be more open to the idea. In a joint newspaper article in May, both leaders pledged a "restart in energy policy" and "equal treatment at the EU level for all low-emission energies."


France 24
6 hours ago
- France 24
Merz, Macron huddle over NATO and EU-US trade row
Macron and Merz, who took power in May, have been at pains to boost the partnership at the heart of the European Union as US President Donald Trump has rocked transatlantic ties. Macron said bilateral "convergence ... whether it concerns defence, security, the energy transition, or artificial intelligence and quantum technology, is absolutely key to gaining efficiency, critical mass and cooperation". Paris and Berlin, along with London and Warsaw, have pushed efforts to support Ukraine against Russia and build up the defence capabilities of NATO's European member states. Merz and Macron during their working dinner were also to discuss the EU-US trade dispute after Trump threatened 30-percent tariffs against the bloc if no deal is reached by August 1. Greeting Macron, Merz voiced optimism, saying that, as senior-level talks were being held, "we are hearing in these minutes that there could possibly be decisions". Macron emphasised the shared European desire "to provide stability and have the lowest possible tariffs, but also, of course, to be respected as the partners that we are". 'Energy restart' The two leaders also have to discuss several bilateral stumbling blocks, ranging from joint defence projects to energy. There has been disagreement over a combat aircraft to be made jointly by France, Germany and Spain. The head of French defence company Dassault, Eric Trappier, on Tuesday suggested that the viability of the project was in doubt. Merz said that they would talk "about common foreign and security policy, and we will talk about the joint projects that we both discussed some time ago and on which we are working intensively". Another tricky area is energy, where France relies heavily on nuclear power, which Germany has decided to phase out as it shifts increasingly to solar and wind. Paris wants Berlin to commit to "technology neutrality" and effectively classify nuclear energy as climate-friendly. Germany's previous coalition government of the Social Democrats and Greens rejected this, but Merz's centre-right CDU/CSU may be more open to the idea. In a joint newspaper article in May, both leaders pledged a "restart in energy policy" and "equal treatment at the EU level for all low-emission energies".