Two U.S. Representatives, Joe Wilson (R-SC) and Brendan Boyle (D-PA), have written a letter, dated Dec. 10 and seen by Reuters, to Secretary of State Tony Blinken, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, urging some easing of the infamous Caesar sanctions on Syria. This would involve issuing waivers and general licenses to encourage economic development and foreign investment and “build good will” without affecting sanctions on designated terrorist groups.
According to this report, the terrorist designation for Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) is now under discussion while it constitutes the new government. Wilson chairs the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on the Middle East. Boyle chairs the Free Syria Caucus. Reuters reports that the letter urges “a deliberate and phased approach … to unwind sanctions and export controls against Syria” so as “to incentivize the transitional government’s compliance with international norms.” The two Congressmen attribute Assad’s rapid collapse to the sanctions, which denied him access to resources to sustain his military.
It’s important to keep sanctions on former government officials, the letter said, but it would be important to lift “sector sanctions and sanctions related to reconstruction.” On the matter of HTS’s terrorist designation, Reuters reported that an unnamed British minister said on Dec. 9 that the U.K. “could rethink its designation” of HTS as a banned organization.
The Dec. 11 The Cradle reported that sources “within HTS” also told Reuters a day earlier that they are “in touch” with Washington officials to lift part of the sanctions. These sources told Reuters that “all of the obstacles facing the Syrian people and their future should be removed.” The new government has also told business leaders that it will adopt a free-market model and integrate the country into the global economy.
