ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The United Kingdom on Thursday lifted sanctions imposed on Syrian ministries, intelligence agencies and state-affiliated media outlets, during the rule of toppled Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.
In an official notice, the UK’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) announced the removal of the Syrian Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Defense, General Intelligence Directorate, Air Force Intelligence Agency and Political Security Directorate, Syrian National Security Bureau, Military Intelligence Directorate, and the Army Supply Bureau from the UK Consolidated List.
Sanctions were also lifted on several Syria media outlets, including the General Organization of Radio and TV, al-Watan, Cham Press TV and Sama TV.
Of note, the UK Consolidated List is an official list of all individuals, entities, and ships that are subject to financial sanctions under UK law. These sanctions include asset freezes, investment bans and restrictions on financial services.
The UK initially imposed these sanctions in 2019 “under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018” to penalize “individuals and entities involved in repressing the civilian population in Syria” during the 2011 uprising against Assad, as well as those who “supported or benefited” from his regime.
This latest move follows a similar decision in early March, when the UK removed sanctions on Syria’s central bank and 23 other Syrian entities in the banking, commercial, and oil sectors, whose assets had been frozen for six years.
London’s early March decision aligned with the European Union, which in late February lifted sanctions imposed on several restrictive measures targeting key energy and transport sectors, as well as a number of Syrian banks and sectors, including the Industrial Bank, Popular Credit Bank, Saving Bank, Agricultural Cooperative Bank, and the Syrian Arab Airlines. The UK also included these entities in its sanctions relief list.
However, the EU cautioned that it would reimpose sanctions if Syria’s new leadership fails to form an inclusive government representing the country’s diverse ethnic and religious communities, as noted by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.
The diplomatic shifts come after the swift overthrow of the Assad regime by a coalition of opposition groups led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in early December. In late January, HTS then leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, was appointed as Syria’s interim president.
The new Syrian government has since urged Western nations to lift sanctions, arguing they obstruct aid delivery and hinder post-war recovery efforts after more than a decade of civil conflict.
