NNA - The European Union will lift sanctions against Syria's energy, transport and banking sectors, the bloc's foreign affairs chief has said.

“We will go forward with the suspension of sanctions against Syria,” European Commission Vice President Kaja Kallas said on Monday as she arrived at a meeting of the EU's 27 foreign affairs ministers in Brussels. “This includes the transport, energy and banking sector.”

The situation in Syria is on the agenda of a meeting set to be dominated by discussions about boosting EU support for Ukraine's war effort against Russia. Any decision related to sanctions would come into effect only once published in the official journal.

A draft EU Council document obtained by The National last week showed that the easing of sanctions against Syria aims to “facilitate engagement with the country, its people and businesses in areas of energy, transport and reconstruction, as well as to facilitate the associated financial and banking transactions”.

Asked whether EU companies are ready to invest in Syria again following Monday's decision, a senior EU diplomat replied: “The reason why we are lifting in the sanctions is that we hope that they will do just that, because it is important that they get back in and help rebuild Syria.”

It is estimated that reconstruction in Syria will cost between $250bn and $400bn.--AFP

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