Erdogan welcomes the lifting of European sanctions on Syria.

The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed the European proposals to lift sanctions on Syria, indicating that suspending the sanctions is a positive step.

This came during a phone call Erdogan had with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, in which Erdogan emphasized the necessity of lifting all sanctions on Syria.

Erdogan explained during the call that Turkey will continue to support Syria, pointing out that intensifying dialogue between Ankara and Paris will have a positive impact on bilateral relations, especially with significant opportunities for cooperation in various fields, particularly defense industry.

This call comes two days after Macron's phone conversation with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, the first of its kind between al-Sharaa and a Western leader since the fall of the Assad regime. Macron reaffirmed France's commitment to supporting the transitional process in Syria, extending an official invitation to al-Sharaa to visit Paris in the coming weeks.

This communication is part of Paris' preparations to host the International Ministerial Conference on Syria on February 13, where European countries are expected to discuss measures to ease sanctions on Syria and support reconstruction efforts.

In a related development, Bloomberg revealed that the European Union is considering lifting some restrictions imposed on the Central Bank of Syria, allowing cash flow to support economic recovery. The EU is also exploring the possibility of lifting restrictions on financing oil exploration and refining in Syria, building new energy stations to enhance the devastated infrastructure, and partially suspending sanctions on the energy sector, including lifting the ban on importing crude oil from Syria.