Syria’s major airport dealt with its first worldwide flights on Tuesday for the reason that fall of the federal government of former President Bashar al-Assad final month, as the brand new leaders press to reassert a semblance of normalcy within the war-weary nation.
One Qatar Airways airplane landed following a direct flight from Doha to the Syrian capital, Damascus. Jordan’s Civil Aviation Authority introduced that it had additionally despatched an preliminary flight to Damascus on Tuesday morning as a “message of assist” to its northern neighbor, the primary journey there by its nationwide provider in 13 years.
One other flight affiliated with Syria’s nationwide provider took off on Tuesday for the United Arab Emirates carrying 145 passengers, in accordance with Syrian state media. Video shared by Syrian media confirmed folks on board waving Syrian flags and singing nationalist songs.
Syria’s new Islamist leaders have pledged to convene a committee to draft an inclusive structure for the nation. They’ve urged civil servants to return to work to get the equipment of presidency up and operating, they usually insist that Syria now not poses any risk to its neighbors.
However the nation stays underneath a bunch of worldwide sanctions imposed through the regime of Mr. al-Assad. And the brand new interim authorities is run by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which many international locations have blacklisted as a terrorist group for its erstwhile ties to Al Qaeda, though it broke with the group a number of years in the past.
Western leaders have responded to the brand new administration with a mixture of optimism and warning, fearing that Hayat Tahrir al-Sham might impose Islamist rule on the nation or generate a brand new wave of home turmoil. They’ve referred to as for an inclusive political transition.
“Europe will assist, however Europe is not going to be a patron of latest Islamist constructions,” mentioned Annalena Baerbock, Germany’s overseas minister, throughout a go to to Damascus final week.
The sanctions are one of many best obstacles for Syria’s new administration because it tries to chart a path ahead. As quickly as Mr. al-Assad fled the nation in December, one of many first requests of Ahmed al-Shara, the chief of the insurgent coalition that overthrew the federal government, was for america and others to start easing restrictions.
On Monday, the Biden administration lifted some restrictions on humanitarian assist to Syria. Nonetheless, it stored strict sanctions in place, a mirrored image of how Western governments are fastidiously calibrating their method to the brand new leaders.
Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, Syria’s new overseas minister, welcomed the Biden administration’s resolution to loosen the restrictions. Mr. al-Shibani and different newly minted Syrian officers have been on a regional tour to assuage Arab states which have been cautious of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s rise, together with the United Arab Emirates.
At a information convention in Jordan on Tuesday after a gathering with Ayman Safadi, the Jordanian overseas minister, he referred to as for the remaining sanctions to be lifted instantly, arguing that Mr. al-Assad’s downfall had eliminated any cause to maintain them in place.
“These financial sanctions are actually being wielded towards the Syrian folks, whilst the rationale they had been imposed is not any extra,” Mr. al-Shibani mentioned. “They need to have been canceled as quickly because the earlier regime was toppled.”
Syria and Jordan agreed to determine a joint fee to sort out safety affairs alongside their shared border, Mr. Safadi mentioned. Jordan has lengthy expressed considerations concerning the smuggling of weapons and medicines from Syrian territory, notably captagon, an unlawful stimulant that was illicitly trafficked by shut associates of Mr. al-Assad.
Mr. al-Shibani pledged that the brand new Syrian authorities would finish captagon smuggling, which analysts say put immense income into the coffers of senior officers in Mr. al-Assad’s authorities.
The specter of smuggling “shall not return and we’re able to cooperate intensively on this matter,” Mr. al-Shibani mentioned.
