• Sanctions relief in bid to help the country’s reconstruction after the fall of Bashar Assad

BRUSSELS: European Union countries on Monday suspended a range of sanctions against Syria with immediate effect, including restrictions related to energy, banking, transport and reconstruction.

The EU has a range of sanctions in place targeting both individuals and economic sectors in Syria.

European leaders began rethinking their approach after insurgent forces led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) ousted former President Bashar Assad as president in December.

Meeting in Brussels on Monday, EU foreign ministers agreed to suspend restrictions on the energy sector that covered oil, gas and electricity, and sanctions on the transport sector.

They have also lifted asset freezes for five banks, eased restrictions on the Syrian central bank and indefinitely extended an exemption to facilitate delivery of humanitarian aid.

EU states maintained a range of other sanctions related to the Assad authorities, including those on arms trading, dual-use goods with both military and civilian uses, software for surveillance and the international trade of Syrian cultural heritage goods.

They said they would continue to monitor the situation in Syria to ensure that the suspensions remained appropriate.

Reuters