Report reveals US’ conditions for lifting sanctions on Bashar Al-Assad

Conversations intensified in recent months between the United States and the United Arab Emirates over the possibility of lifting the sanctions on Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad.

Citing five people familiar with the matter, Reuters said the officials require Assad to distance himself away from Iran and cut off weapons supply to Lebanon’s Hezbollah through his country.

The report says these discussions took place before the armed groups swept through the country’s biggest city Aleppo, as announced by the Syrian Army earlier.

The US sanctioned Syria after the events in 2011, and they were repeatedly tightened in the following years.

The biggest package of sanctions was known as the Caesar Act, adopted in 2019.

These sanctions have a recent expiry date of December 20, which prompted these diplomatic conversations to intensify recently.