Minister says tweaks will support Syrian people “in re-building their country.”
The British government has signalled for the first time it will loosen long-held sanctions on Syria, after the fall of the Assad regime.
U.K. Minister of State Stephen Doughty told MPs in a written statement the government would bring forward measures “in the coming months” to adapt the existing sanctions regime on Syria.
MPs will have the opportunity to debate any sanctions amendments, Doughty said, adding that the government will maintain asset freezes and travel bans imposed on members of the former regime.
“We are making these changes to support the Syrian people in re-building their country and promote security and stability. They will include the relaxation of restrictions that apply to the energy, transport and finance sectors, and provisions to further support humanitarian delivery,” Doughty wrote in the statement.
Thursday’s announcement comes after the collapse of the Assad regime in December 2024. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in January that the Labour government was, alongside allies, reviewing sanctions, but provided no further detail at that time.
Syria was first sanctioned by Britain when it was a member of the European Union, and the government later enacted its own sanctions against the regime after Brexit.
Britain’s sanctions against Syria are against “the Syrian regime,” which is defined as “the regime in Syria on or after 9 May 2011 led by Bashar Al-Assad.” Assad’s wife, Asma, is a British citizen, although Lammy has said she is not welcome in the U.K.
Syria’s transitional President, Ahmed al-Sharaa, is the leader of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham. HTS is still defined as a terrorist organisation by the U.K.
