DAMASCUS(RAHNUMA): Syria’s foreign ministry on Friday welcomed the permanent ending by the United States of the so-called Caesar sanctions, paving the way for the return of investment to the war-ravaged nation.
The US Congress on Wednesday permanently ended the sanctions imposed on Syria under Bashar Assad, who was ousted in December last year.
The Caesar Act, named after an anonymous photographer who documented atrocities in Assad’s prisons, severely restricted investment and cut off Syria from the international banking system.
A foreign ministry statement in Damascus “welcomed” the step, calling it “an entrance to the phase of reconstruction and development.” It urged “all Syrians in the country and abroad to contribute in national recovery efforts.”
US President Donald Trump had already twice suspended the implementation of sanctions against Syria in response to pleas from Saudi Arabia and Turkiye, allies of the new government headed by former jihadist Ahmed Al-Sharaa.
But Sharaa had sought a permanent end to the sanctions, fearing that as long as the measures remained on the books they would deter businesses wary of legal risks in the United States, the world’s largest economy.
