Syria’s Sharaa, in New York, renews call for US to formally drop sanctions

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By Humeyra Pamuk

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa renewed his call on Monday for Washington to formally lift U.S. sanctions imposed under the 2019 Caesar Act while visiting New York to attend the first U.N. General Assembly of a Syrian leader in nearly six decades.

Sharaa, a former al Qaeda leader, led rebel forces that overthrew Bashar al-Assad’s government last year. U.S. President Donald Trump met him in Riyadh in May and ordered most sanctions lifted but the Caesar Syria Civil Protection Act of 2019 authorizing them remains U.S. law. 

Speaking at a summit on the sidelines of the annual General Assembly, Sharaa said the sanctions imposed on the previous Syrian leadership were no longer justified and were increasingly seen by Syrians as measures targeting them directly.

“We have a big mission to build the economy,” Sharaa said.

“Syria has a diverse workforce. They love to work, it’s in its genes. So don’t be worried, just lift the sanctions and you will see the results.”

Sharaa is the first Syrian president to participate in the General Assembly since 1967 and he is expected to deliver his first address there, which opens its 80th session on Tuesday.

On Monday, Sharaa also met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio in New York. He did not respond to a reporter asking if he was hopeful that the U.S. would lift the sanctions.

A State Department readout of the meeting said Rubio underscored the opportunity to “build a stable and sovereign nation” in Syria after Trump’s announcement of sanctions relief but did not address sanctions that remain.

“They discussed ongoing counterterrorism efforts, efforts to locate missing Americans and the importance of Israel-Syria relations in achieving greater regional security,” deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in the readout.

Members of Congress have been debating whether to repeal the Caesar Act, which imposed wide-ranging sanctions on Syria under Assad. Some lawmakers, including Trump’s fellow Republicans as well as Democrats, want its repeal to be included as an amendment in the National Defense Authorization Act, a sweeping defense bill expected to pass by the end of December.

The Israelis have been lobbying U.S. lawmakers and policymakers at the State Department for months to keep sanctions in place, arguing that the U.S. should not give away all its leverage on Syria in one fell swoop, according to a U.S.-based sourced involved in Syria policymaking.

FROM BATTLEFIELD TO DIALOGUE

Washington has separately been pressuring Syria to reach a security deal with Israel during the New York meetings this week, Reuters reported.

Israel and Syria have been Middle East adversaries for decades. Despite the overthrow of Assad, territorial disputes and deep-seated political mistrust between the two countries remain.

They’re now in talks to reach an agreement that Damascus hopes will secure a halt to Israeli airstrikes and the withdrawal of Israeli troops who have pushed into southern Syria.

Sharaa said those talks had reached an advanced stage and he hoped the outcome would preserve Syria’s sovereignty and address Israeli security concerns. 

Senator Lindsey Graham, a Trump ally, told Axios he would support canceling sanctions against Syria if Sharaa’s government officially moved toward a new security deal with Israel and joined a coalition against the Islamic State extremist group.

Asked whether Syria could join the Abraham Accords that some Arab countries have signed to normalize relations with Israel, Sharaa said anger over Israel’s occupation of Syrian territory would influence the country’s position toward Israel.

“Israel must withdraw from Syrian land, and security concerns can be addressed in talks. The question is whether Israel’s concerns are truly about security or about expansionist designs — this is what the talks will reveal,” Sharaa said.

Sharaa, who as a militant leader had a $10 million U.S. government bounty on his head, was interviewed in New York by retired General David Petraeus, who commanded U.S. forces during the Iraq War, putting the two men on opposing sides as Sharaa joined the Sunni insurgency following the 2003 U.S. invasion.

“It’s good that we were once in the battlefield zone and have now moved to another theater — that of dialogue,” Sharaa told Petraeus.

Syria remains deeply fractured after 13 years of civil war.

Sharaa said a deal with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, in control of the northeast of the country, was delayed. 

Calls for decentralization by Kurdish parties were a step toward separation that risked igniting a wider war, he said. “This could present threats to Iraq, Turkey and even Syria,” he added.

(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk in New York, additional reporting by Menna Alaaeldin and Suleiman Al-Khalidi; Writing by Simon Lewis; Editing by Howard Goller)