SNC says al-Sharaa meet ‘positive’, Riyadh urges sanctions lift

The Syrian National Coalition (SNC), the former leading opposition group, said on Sunday that it had a “positive” meeting with Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, dismissing “false information” about the meeting between the two parties. 

The Turkey-based SNC, which met with al-Sharaa in Damascus at the presidential palace on Wednesday, said the discussions were an open exchange on Syria’s future.

“Social media pages have circulated false information about the content of the meeting between the leader of the new Syrian administration in Damascus, the head of the National Coalition, and the head of the Negotiations Committee, which took place last Wednesday evening at the People’s Palace in Damascus,” the SNC statement said.

“The Syrian National Coalition affirms that the meeting was positive and constructive. Views and positions regarding the current challenges and how to address them were exchanged with full transparency and clarity. The discussion emphasised support for the efforts of the interim government in Damascus during these difficult circumstances to achieve security, civil peace, and stability, as well as to provide essential services to citizens.”

In December, SNC President Ahmed al-Bahra said the opposition coalition would “dissolve when a national conference is convened, electing a constituent assembly representing the entire Syrian people. This assembly will form a constitutional committee to draft Syria’s future constitution”.

Hayaat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) leader Al-Sharaa who led the overthrow of former president Bashar al-Assad, has pledged to form a broader regime by March.

On Sunday, an interview with the HTS leader and Joe Hattab circulated widely on social media, in which al-Sharaa expressed his belief that the Syrian revolution is complete, with the priority now being the building of state institutions.

“The mindset of revolution does not build a country,” al-Sharaa said. “The priority is to build institutions that achieve a level of justice among people, and prevent a repetition of the past in the future.”

Saudi Arabia urges lifting of sanctions

Saudi Arabia on Sunday called for the lifting of sanctions on Syria after meetings with top diplomats from the Middle East and Europe.

Riyadh has cautiously embraced the new Syrian leadership in a bid to gain influence alongside regional powers Turkey and Qatar, according to analysts.

“We stressed the importance of lifting unilateral and international sanctions imposed on Syria, as their continuation hinders the aspirations of the Syrian people to achieve development and reconstruction,” Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said after the meeting in Riyadh.

The talks also covered the delivery of aid to Syria, which has been devastated by over a decade of conflict and held back by sanctions. According to the UN, seven-in-ten Syrians need humanitarian aid.

Protesters in Syria have been demanding that Western sanctions be lifted to make the country more viable for refugees to return to, and aid and investment to enter.

Separately on Sunday, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the 27-member bloc’s foreign ministers would meet in Brussels on 27 January to discuss the issue of sanctions.

Western powers, including the US and the EU, imposed heavy sanctions on Assad’s regime over his brutal crackdown on anti-regime protests in 2011, which triggered a civil war.

Some US sanctions long pre-date the conflict, with Washington labelling Syria a “state sponsor of terrorism” in 1979 and adding further measures in 2004.