Washington Moves to Lift UN Sanctions on President Ahmad al-Shara

In a diplomatic step taken by Washington once again towards the new Syrian government, the American Monitor website reported, citing sources it described as "informed", that the United States has begun diplomatic moves to lift the UN sanctions imposed on Syrian President Ahmad al-Shara and his Interior Minister Anas Khattab.

According to the site's report, Washington has distributed a draft resolution to both Britain and France — its allies in the Security Council — calling for the removal of al-Shara and Khattab's names from the UN sanctions list related to counter-terrorism, which is linked to the "al-Qaeda" and "ISIS" organizations, and includes strict travel restrictions and freezing of financial assets.

The American step is not limited to removing names from the lists, but also includes proposals to expand humanitarian exemptions from the economic sanctions imposed on Syria, along with a limited easing of the arms embargo, especially in support of demining operations carried out by UN-affiliated organizations.

The site believes that there may be obstacles to passing the project in the Security Council, namely the potential Chinese veto, especially since Beijing has previously objected to similar initiatives from Western countries.