Kallas: EU should consider easing sanctions on Syria, HTS has so far 'said the right things'

(Patria) - The European Union should be ready to ease sanctions on Syria if the new leadership takes 'positive steps' towards establishing an inclusive government and respecting the rights of women and minorities, the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, said on Monday.

Many EU foreign ministers at a meeting in Brussels on Monday also stated that Syria should 'rid itself' of Russian influence, such as military bases in the country, Kallas told reporters, Reuters reported.

Kallas said she had sent a senior diplomat to meet with officials from the group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Islamist group that has emerged as the ruling power in Damascus since the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad just over a week ago.

Assad's sudden overthrow has presented the European Union and other external powers with urgent questions about how to deal with Syria's new leaders.

On one hand, EU leaders welcomed Assad's fall, having long condemned his repressive rule and imposed broad sanctions on Syria in response. However, they are also faced with the dilemma of how to deal with HTS, which the United Nations has designated a terrorist organization. The group was an offshoot of Al-Qaeda until it broke ties with the jihadist network in 2016.

In 2020, the EU accused HTS of unlawful detention, torture, and killing of civilians living in areas under the group's control, stating that this could constitute war crimes or crimes against humanity.

'We do not want to see any extremism, any radicalization,' Kallas said, adding that HTS has so far 'said the right things,' but the group will be judged on its actions.

Kallas said she asked EU ministers whether they were ready to adjust sanctions policy if they see 'positive steps, not words, but real steps and deeds' from the new leadership.

'We need to have... a plan ready when we see steps... to act positively in that regard to help Syria's development,' she said.

Current sanctions include a ban on exporting arms to Syria and importing oil from the country, as well as a ban on investing in Syria's oil industry and freezing any assets of the Syrian central bank in the European Union.