The United States has handed Syria a list of conditions that it wants Damascus to fulfill in exchange for partial sanctions relief, six people familiar with the matter told Reuters, including ensuring foreigners are not in senior governing roles.
U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Levant and Syria Natasha Franceschi gave the list of demands to Syrian foreign minister Asaad al-Shibani at an in-person meeting on the sidelines of a Syria donor conference in Brussels on March 18, according to two of the people – a U.S. official and a Syrian source familiar with the matter.
Reuters was first to report both the list and the in-person meeting, the first high-level direct contact between Damascus and Washington since U.S. President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20, has been previously reported.
Reuters spoke to six sources for this story, including two U.S. officials, a Syrian source, a regional diplomat and two sources in Washington familiar with the matter. They all requested anonymity to discuss the high-level diplomacy.
Among the conditions placed by the United States are Syria’s destruction of any remaining chemical weapons stores and cooperation on counter-terrorism, the two U.S. officials, the Syrian source and both sources in Washington said.
Another demand was making sure foreign fighters are not installed in senior roles in Syria’s governing structure, the U.S. officials and one of the sources in Washington said.
Syria has already appointed some foreign ex-rebels, including Uyghurs, a Jordanian and a Turk, to its defense ministry – a move that alarmed foreign governments.
Washington also asked Syria to appoint a liaison to assist U.S. efforts to find Austin Tice, the U.S. journalist who went missing in Syria over a decade ago, according to the two U.S. officials and both sources in Washington.
In return for fulfilling all the demands, Washington would provide some sanctions relief, all six sources said. One specific action would be a two-year extension of an existing exemption for transactions with Syrian governing institutions and possibly the issuance of another exemption.
The U.S. would also issue a statement supporting Syria’s territorial integrity, the source said.
Washington did not provide a specific timeline for the conditions to be fulfilled.
Syria’s foreign ministry did not respond to requests for comments. A spokesperson for the State Department said the agency does not “discuss our private diplomatic conversations publicly.” Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce last week said Washington was monitoring the actions of the interim rulers.
REUTERS
