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The United States has reportedly issued a list of demands to Syria’s new leadership in exchange for partial sanctions relief, marking a potential shift in US engagement following a high-level meeting between officials from both countries.
Some shit you should know before you read: If you’re unaware, back in December, rebels with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a group with previous ties to al-Qaeda, launched a coordinated offensive that toppled Bashar al-Assad’s regime, ending his family’s five-decade rule over Syria. Led by Ahmed al-Sharaa (al-Julani), a former high-ranking official of al-Qaeda who defected, HTS capitalized on Assad’s deteriorating military strength and widespread public discontent to seize control of key cities. As his government collapsed, Assad fled to Moscow aboard a Russian military aircraft, reportedly taking billions of dollars in state funds, and has since been residing in Russia with his family under the protection of the Kremlin. Despite efforts to rebrand itself as a nationalist opposition force, HTS has been scrutinized for its extremist ties, raising concerns among some countries about the group’s true agenda.
What’s going on now: First reported by Reuters, citing six sources including US officials, Syrian insiders, and regional diplomats, the United States has presented a detailed list of conditions to Syria’s new leadership in exchange for partial sanctions relief. A top US official conveyed the conditions to Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani during a face-to-face meeting on the sidelines of a Syria donor conference in Brussels on March 18. This marks one of the first high-level diplomatic contacts between the United States and Syria since President Trump came back to office.
The US is demanding a series of security and governance-related measures from Syria, primarily focused on disarmament, counterterrorism, and the exclusion of foreign actors from power. The list includes:
- Complete destruction of any remaining chemical weapons stockpiles in Syria, with verifiable proof.
- Cooperation on counterterrorism operations, including intelligence sharing to combat extremist threats.
- A prohibition on appointing foreign fighters or non-Syrians to senior government or defense positions, a response to Syria’s recent inclusion of foreign ex-rebels in its defense ministry.
- Appointment of a liaison to assist US efforts in locating Austin Tice, a missing American journalist last seen in Syria in 2012.
In exchange for meeting these conditions, the US has offered partial sanctions relief, which could include a two-year extension of existing exemptions for financial transactions with Syrian institutions and a formal statement recognizing Syria’s territorial integrity.
This comes weeks after horrific violence targeting members of Syria’s Alawite minority, a sect that has long been tied to the former Assad regime. In western Syria, hundreds of Alawite civilians were executed and tortured by armed loyalists of Syria’s current government. Disturbing videos circulated online in the aftermath, showing scenes of burned villages and mass graves.
In one video, armed men forced their captives to crawl on the ground and bark like dogs. As they crawled, gunmen would shoot their legs, feet, arms, and hands so they would suffer. Eventually, they were all executed.
