Top Western and Middle East diplomats and ministers meet to discuss sanctions relief for Syria after al-Assad’s removal. Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, said on Sunday that the foreign ministers would convene in Brussels on January 27 to probe how the 27-member bloc might approach the issue. Analyst Rob Geist Pinfold says the Biden administration and European countries are “moving in the direction that Syria’s new administration, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), wants them to go in terms of removing sanctions, or at least freezing sanctions.” The US on Monday issued a sanctions exemption for transactions with governing institutions in Syria for six months after the end of al-Assad’s rule to try to ease the flow of humanitarian assistance. Germany, Italy and France have in recent days pushed for EU sanctions on Syria to be relaxed, but a final decision could only come from the entire bloc. The new administration is anxious to get the sanctions lifted because it has to show people that the revolution has improved their lives.

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