US not yet keen on lifting Syrian regime sanctions

Agencies | Washington     

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

The Biden administration has no plans to support efforts to normalise or rehabilitate Syrian President Bashar Al Assad or lift sanctions on the regime, the top US diplomat for the Middle East said yesterday.

Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf told US lawmakers that Assad and “the coterie around him remain the single largest impediment” to a political solution in Syria.

“The ultimate responsibility for this continued tragedy rests with Bashar Al Assad, backed by Russia and Iran, who brought his country to this terrible state and remains intransigent, refusing to provide Syrians any hope for a better future,” Leaf said in her testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

While the Russian invasion of Ukraine has taken attention away from ongoing wars around the globe, including in Syria, Leaf said she planned to make Syria “a priority” within the State Department.

Leaf was recently confirmed to her position after the process had been blocked for one year due to political bickering between Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill.