On Nov. 6, the UN Security Council adopted a draft resolution to remove Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa and Interior Minister Anas Khattab from the sanctions list. The U.S.-drafted resolution received 14 votes, with an abstention from China.
Sharaa and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) had been under sanctions since 2014. The United States and United Kingdom lifted punitive measures in May. Both countries also revoked the designation of HTS as a foreign terrorist group. Sharaa met Russian President Vladimir Putin in October, and is reportedly set to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on Nov. 8.
According to China’s Ambassador Fu Cong, his country abstained because the United States “did not fully heed the views of all members and forced the Council to take action even when there were huge differences among Council members in an attempt to serve its own political agenda.” Although he did say the resolution reaffirmed the Council’s “counterterrorism requirements.”
