Middle East & Africa | No easy fix

The West is making a muddle of its Syria sanctions

Outsiders should be much clearer about how and when they will be lifted

A man sits in front of a destroyed building in Daraya suburb on December 25, 2024 in Damascus, Syria
Where does my help come from?Photograph: Getty Images
|DUBAI

FOR many Syrians, the past month has been bewildering. They have watched one Western envoy after another rush to Damascus to celebrate the fall of Bashar al-Assad, the longtime dictator deposed in December. Yet as they depart, those same envoys insist it is far too early to ease the web of sanctions on Syria’s economy. America and Europe seem eager to meet Syria’s new rulers, but not to help them.

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This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “No easy fix”

From the January 11th 2025 edition

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