Bloomberg: EU considering partial lifting of sanctions against Syriaʼs oil industry and banks

The European Union is negotiating an agreement to partially suspend some sanctions on Syriaʼs energy sector, including a ban on the import of crude oil from the country and the export of technology for the oil and gas industry.

Bloomberg writes about this.

The agreement could also potentially lift restrictions on financing oil exploration and refining and the construction of new power plants.

Other measures the bloc is counting on include the removal of several banks from the sanctions list and the partial lifting of some restrictions previously imposed on the Central Bank of Syria, allowing it to provide funds.

The freeze on assets in the EU related to the Central Bank will most likely remain in place, the sources added.

Other measures proposed by the EU include lifting the ban on the export of banknotes and jet fuel, as well as easing some restrictions on airlines and access to airports. The proposals also include several exemptions to existing sanctions, including on opening bank accounts in Syria.

The overthrow of the Assad regime in Syria

On December 8, 2024, the Syrian opposition entered the Syrian capital, Damascus, and overthrew the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, who had been in power for 24 years. Assad himself fled to Moscow.

Syrian rebels are forming a transitional government — it is headed by Muhammad Bashir, who led the "Salvation Government" — a political structure created in 2017 in territories controlled by the Syrian opposition, primarily in the province of Idlib.

The leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebel group, Ahmad al-Sharaa (better known as Muhammad al-Julani), has said that the country is exhausted by war and poses no threat to its neighbors or the West. He is calling for the lifting of international sanctions on Syria, as they were imposed against the regime of Bashar al-Assad, which has already fallen.

At the end of January, the new Syrian government reported the dissolution of parliament, all military groups and political structures. Syriaʼs de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa will become president for a transitional period.

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