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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Tuesday that his country wants to lift sanctions on Syria and support the interim government in Damascus.
"We want to remove sanctions because we believe in the new administration," Tajani told Rudaw on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
European officials have on several occasions stressed that Syria’s future must be shaped through an inclusive, Syrian-led political process that safeguards minority rights and reflects the country’s diverse social fabric.
"We need to work for unity. All the Syrians — Christians, Jewish, Muslims, Druze — are Syrians," the top diplomat stressed. "This is the key point."
Syria’s interim government has come under fire, accused of sidelining minority groups. When he was appointed interim president in late January, Ahmed al-Sharaa promised an inclusive political process.
In March, he signed a constitutional declaration that centers on Islamic jurisprudence and grants him exclusive executive power during the country’s five-year transitional period. The interim constitution has been rejected by Syria’s Christian, Druze, Kurdish, and Alawite communities, who view it as exclusionary and the new government as too centralized.
"There are problems also among the supporters of al-Sharaa, but we need to back the new administration, if you want to stabilize the unity of Syria. For this, Italy is strongly engaged," said Tajani. "We believe in Syria. We are ready to work for peace.
"We are ready for Italian investments. We are ready for good cooperation between Italy and Syria on industrial policy.
"We believe that a flight from Syria to Italy is a very important message, an important bridge."
The European Union in May decided to lift its economic sanctions on Syria, marking a major shift in the union’s approach towards Damascus following months of deliberations.
Following a swift offensive in early December, a coalition of opposition groups led by the now-dissolved Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) - headed by Sharaa - toppled the regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.
Since assuming power, the new leadership in Damascus has prioritized lobbying for the removal of international sanctions. While many countries have expressed openness to revisiting Assad-era sanctions, they have emphasized the need for the new government to meet key benchmarks.
Both the UN and EU imposed strict sanctions on the Syrian regime for its violent crackdown on what began as peaceful anti-government protests in 2011, which evolved into a full-blown civil war.
Simon Harris, Ireland’s Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, told Rudaw on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly that his country is working with the Syrian transitional government at the European level and while sanctions have been eased.
Namo Abdulla contributed to this article.
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