During their trip to Doha, Syria’s new Islamist leaders call on the US to remove sanctions

During Syrian officials’ visit to Qatar on Sunday, Syria’s new Islamist rulers urged Washington to suspend U.S. sanctions on Syria, saying they were impeding the war-torn nation’s speedy rehabilitation.

Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, the foreign minister of Syria, told reporters following a meeting with Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the prime minister and foreign minister of Qatar, that “these sanctions constitute a barrier and an obstacle to the rapid recovery and development of the Syrian people who await services and partnerships from other countries.”

“We reiterate our calls for the United States to lift these sanctions, which have now become against the Syrian people rather than what they previously were: imposed sanctions on the Assad regime,” he stated.

Less than a month after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was overthrown by insurgents on December 8, Shibani, on his second international tour, declared that Qatar will be a partner in the new phase in Syria.

Doha had supported the Syrian opposition and refused to establish relations with Assad because of the harsh way his regime responded to protests in 2011.

Earlier, a Qatari official told Reuters that Shibani met with other high-ranking Qatari officials, including Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Mohammed Al-Khulaifi, accompanied by Syrian Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra and Head of Intelligence Anas Khattab.

Al-Khulaifi told reporters during the meeting that Shibani gave the Qataris a clear plan for the near future in Syria and the actions that the new Syrian government would take.

“We are working together to prevent any foreign interference in Syrian affairs,” said Al-Khulaifi.

Shibani stated that the roadmap aims to “rebuild our country, restore its Arab and foreign relations, enable the Syrian people to obtain their civil and basic rights, and present a government that the Syrian people feel it represents them and all their components.”

This week, he is also anticipated to go to Jordan and the United Arab Emirates to “support stability, security, economic recovery and build distinguished partnerships,” according to his X account.

Less than a month after rebels overthrew Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on December 8, Shibani made his first international travel to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, when Saudi officials talked about how best to assist Syria’s democratic transition.