Khbarani - The US Treasury Department announced early Saturday the easing of sanctions imposed on Syria, detailing the permission for transactions with the interim Syrian President, Ahmad al-Shara (who was listed under the sanctions as Abu Mohammad al-Golani), in a statement published on its official website, as follows:
Today, the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Treasury (Friday Eastern Time) issued General License No. 25 for Syria, to immediately ease the sanctions imposed on it, in line with the US President's announcement of stopping all sanctions imposed on it. General License No. 25 allows transactions that were prohibited under the sanctions regulations imposed on Syria, effectively lifting the sanctions imposed on it.
General License No. 25 will provide new investment opportunities and activities in the private sector, in line with the US President's "America First" strategy . The US State Department also issues an exemption under the Caesar Act to protect civilians in Syria (Caesar Act), which will enable our foreign partners and allies and the region to further unleash Syria's potential, and this is just one part of a broader US government effort to dismantle the entire structure of sanctions imposed on Syria due to violations of Bashar al-Assad's regime.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bisent said, "As President Trump promised, the Treasury and State Departments implement mandates to encourage new investments in Syria. Syria must continue working to become a stable state that enjoys peace, and we hope today's actions pave the way for the country towards a bright, prosperous, and stable future."
An opportunity for a new start
The era of the Assad regime's brutality against its people and its support for terrorism in the region has ended, and a new chapter in the life of the Syrian people has begun. The US government commits to supporting a stable and unified Syria, living in peace with itself and its neighbors, and it has extended the easing of US sanctions to include the new Syrian government, provided that the country does not provide a safe haven for terrorist organizations, and ensures the security of its religious and ethnic minorities. The United States will continue to monitor Syria's progress and developments on the ground.
General License 25 is a major first step in implementing President Trump's May 13 announcement on stopping sanctions on Syria and will facilitate action across all sectors of the Syrian economy, without providing any exemptions for terrorist organizations, or perpetrators of human rights violations and war crimes, or drug traffickers, or the former Assad regime, and this decision does not allow transactions benefiting Russia, Iran, or North Korea - the main countries supporting the former Assad regime.
This authorization aims to help rebuild the Syrian economy, the financial sector, and infrastructure, in line with US foreign policy interests. To achieve this, it is necessary to attract new investments to Syria and support the new Syrian government, and accordingly, GL 25 authorizes transactions that were otherwise prohibited under the US economic sanctions on Syria, including new investment in Syria; providing financial services and others to Syria; and transactions related to Syrian oil or oil products.
GL 25 allows all transactions with the new Syrian government, and with certain other prohibited persons specified in the GL Appendix, In line with GL, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) provides an exceptional exemption to allow US financial institutions to maintain correspondent accounts for the Syrian Commercial Bank.
US President, Donald Trump, announced during his visit to Saudi Arabia as part of his Gulf tour, earlier in May, that he would order the lifting of American sanctions imposed on Syria, noting that they were "harsh" and confirming that the step comes "in order to give Syria a chance to achieve greatness".
Trump said: "I will order the cessation of sanctions on Syria in order to give it a chance to achieve greatness," adding, "The sanctions were harsh and crippling, and they were really important at the time, but now is their time to shine".
He continued: "So I say good luck Syria, and show us something very special as they honestly did in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia".
