The United Nations Security Council lifted sanctions on Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Thursday, days before he was due to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House.
“The council is sending a strong political signal that it recognizes that Syria is in a new era since Assad and his allies were removed from power,” US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz said after Thursday’s vote, referring to the ouster of longtime ruler Bashar Assad from power late last year.
In the proposal prepared by America, sanctions imposed on Syrian Interior Minister Anas Khattab were also removed.
Of the 15 UNSC members, 14 countries voted in favor of the resolution while China abstained.
The US first announced the major policy change in May and has since been urging the UNSC to ease Syrian sanctions.
Al-Sharaa is scheduled to visit the White House on Monday, making him the first Syrian president to do so since the Arab country’s independence in 1946.
Why were they approved in the first place?
Both Syrian leaders were on the UNSC international sanctions list due to their former links to the terrorist organization al-Qaeda.
Following a 13-year civil war in Syria, former President Bashar Assad was ousted in December when forces led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) captured the capital Damascus in a lightning-quick offensive.
HTS, formerly known as Nusra Front, has been on the UN sanctions list since 2014. The group was the official branch of al-Qaeda in Syria until it severed ties in 2016.
How did diplomats react?
Syrian Foreign Minister Assad al-Shaibani thanked the US and “friendly countries” for their support.
“Once again, and not for the last time, Syrian diplomacy confirms its active presence and ability to achieve progress with steady steps…” he said in a post on Twitter.
Representatives of Britain, Russia, France and Pakistan called it an important step towards supporting Syria’s economic recovery and political transition.
Meanwhile, Chinese Ambassador Fu Kang criticized the US, saying it “did not fully take into account the views of all members and forced the Council to take action even when there were strong differences of opinion among Council members.”
China has long been vocal about its concerns with the East Turkistan Islamic Movement in Syria, which counts Uyghur fighters from China and Central Asia as its members.
Edited by: Srinivas Majumdaru