US gave Syria list of conditions for partial sanctions relief

26/3/2025 6:50

The United States has handed Syria a list of conditions that it wants Damascus to fulfill in exchange for partial sanctions relief, six people familiar with the matter told Reuters, including ensuring foreigners are not in senior governing roles.



U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Levant and Syria Natasha Franceschi gave the list of demands to Syrian foreign minister Asaad al-Shibani at an in-person meeting on the sidelines of a Syria donor conference in Brussels on March 18, according to two of the people - a U.S. official and a Syrian source familiar with the matter.



Reuters was first to report both the list and the in-person meeting, the first high-level direct contact between Damascus and Washington since U.S. President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20, has been previously reported.



Reuters spoke to six sources for this story, including two U.S. officials, a Syrian source, a regional diplomat and two sources in Washington familiar with the matter. They all requested anonymity to discuss the high-level diplomacy.