Syria, US hold talks on sanctions, Israeli violations

ISTANBUL

Syria and the US on Friday held a high-level phone conversation addressing sanctions, Israeli military action, and regional security threats, state media SANA reported.

The call between Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al Shaibani and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio came just days after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order easing broad economic sanctions on Syria.

According to SANA, the two discussed “US sanctions, the chemical weapons issue, counterterrorism efforts against Daesh (ISIS), and repeated Israeli violations in Syria.”

They also reviewed Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa’s planned participation in the UN General Assembly in New York this September.

Both sides acknowledged that the US’ Caesar Act, which previously restricted foreign investment in Syria, “continues to deter international economic engagement.”

Shaibani voiced Syria’s desire to “work with the US to remove the remaining sanctions,” while Rubio reaffirmed that the US is “implementing President (Donald) Trump’s directives to ease economic pressure on Syria.”

The White House clarified earlier this month that sanctions would remain in place against former regime leader Bashar al-Assad and individuals implicated in war crimes, drug trafficking, or links to chemical weapons programs and terrorist groups.

- ISIS, Iran, Israel

The two also emphasized the enduring threat of ISIS, particularly following last month’s attack on the St. Elias Church in Damascus, which left 25 people dead and 63 injured. Both sides also agreed to establish a joint committee on the chemical weapons issue.

Shaibani raised concerns over “Iran’s growing interference in Syrian affairs,” especially in light of Israel’s recent strikes on Iranian targets that began on June 13 and lasted nearly two weeks.

On Israel’s recent military operations, including a predawn air raid near Yafour, 10 kilometers (6.21 miles) south of Damascus, and a ground incursion in the southern Daraa province, Shaibani reiterated Syria’s desire to “coordinate with the US to restore the 1974 disengagement agreement with Israel.”

The Israeli military has expanded its operations inside Syria since the fall of the Assad regime last December, occupying parts of the buffer zone and canceling the long-standing ceasefire mechanism.

At the end of the call, Rubio “expressed the United States’ intent to reopen its embassy in Damascus,” which ceased operating in 2012. He also extended a formal invitation to Shaibani to visit Washington “at the earliest opportunity.”

Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia in December, ending the Baath Party regime, which had been in power since 1963.

A new transitional administration led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa was formed in Syria in January.