The US Treasury Department has lifted a number of sanctions on Syria

Washington has decided to soften a number of sanctions against the Syrian authorities. This was stated in a press release on the website of the U.S. Treasury Department on Monday, January 6.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Treasury Department published a new general license, according to which it is planned to once again allow transactions with government agencies of the Arab Republic concerning the purchase and sale of energy resources.

It is noted that these are transactions "in support of the sale, supply, storage, or gratuitous transfer of energy resources, including oil, petroleum products, natural gas, and electricity, to or within Syria, transactions that normally occur and are necessary to process the transfer of non-commercial personal remittances to Syria, including through the Central Bank of Syria." Such transactions will be allowed until July 7, 2025.

At the same time, the US Treasury Department stressed that transactions involving military or intelligence organizations remain prohibited. Any transactions with the governments of Russia and Iran related to "the transfer or provision of goods, technology, software, funds, financing or services of Iranian or Russian origin" also remain prohibited.

The department also said that the transfer of subsidized fuel from third countries to Syria at no cost is permitted. The US will not respond to such actions with sanctions, the Finance Ministry noted.

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Earlier, on January 5, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that the US will ease restrictions on humanitarian aid to Syria.

Before that, on December 11, 2024, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, responding to Izvestia's question during a briefing, said that the US was purposefully imposing sanctions on Syria to maintain influence over the country, which caused the population's dissatisfaction with the socio-economic state of affairs.

Prior to that, on December 8, 2024, the Arab League (LAS) called for lifting sanctions on Syria and supporting its people. On December 19, UN Secretary General António Guterres allowed the lifting of restrictions on Syria. He noted that the sanctions imposed were directed against the regime of the country's former president Bashar al-Assad, but now the situation has changed.

The Russian Foreign Ministry on the same day reported that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, after negotiations with the opposition, left the post of head of state and left the country, instructing to carry out the transfer of power peacefully. On the same day, the national coalition of revolutionary and opposition forces of Syria announced the work on the formation of a transitional authority. In turn, Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi al-Jalali said that most of the ministers of the Syrian government remain in Damascus, and he himself is ready to cooperate with any elected leadership.

The situation in Syria has escalated as a result of a major attack by armed formations in Aleppo and Idlib, which began on November 28, 2024, and led to the Syrian army's retaliation against the militants.