The European Union is considering a step-by-step suspension of multiple economic sanctions targeting Syria as it seeks to support the country’s transition, while retaining some leverage, according to two internal documents seen by Reuters.

A train station in Damascus was once the pride of the Syrian capital, an essential link between Europe and the Arabian Peninsula during the Ottoman Empire and then a national transit hub.

A train station in Damascus was once the pride of the Syrian capital, an essential link between Europe and the Arabian Peninsula during the Ottoman Empire and then a national transit hub

Sanctions targeted Assad and his regime, which no longer exists; thus, the sanctions on the new Syria should also be removed - Anadolu Ajansı

By Nahwa Makar in Beirut The recent dramatic change in regime in Syria, particularly the consolidation of power by figures such as Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, raise important questions about the future of governance in the region.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani is travelling to Syria on Friday to encourage the country’s transition following the ouster of President Bashar Assad by Islamist insurgents, and said Europe should review its sanctions on Damascus now that the political situation has changed.

An official with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) said on Thursday the militant group would agree to leave northeastern Syria if the U.S.-allied Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) maintains a significant joint leadership role there.

With the downfall of the old Syrian regime, countries like Germany which welcomed Syrian refugees are now talking about sending them home.

The EU foreign policy chief, said the foreign ministers would convene in Brussels on 27 January, in an effort to decide how the 27-nation bloc would relax sanctions on Syria.

In 1982 an uprising in the city of Hama by the Muslim Brotherhood, a Sunni Islamist group originating in Egypt, challenged Assad’s rule. Tens of thousands of people were killed by the government’s bombardment of the city. The chilling message stuck with Syrians for decades.

Syria’s path to stability may become hindered by foreign interference, radical groups and international pressure

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — A train station in Damascus was once the pride of the Syrian capital, an essential link between Europe and the Arabian Peninsula during the Ottoman Empire and then a ...