By Timour Azhari and Maya Gebeily
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syria has responded in writing to a list of U.S. conditions for possible partial sanctions relief, saying it had acted on most of them but others required “mutual understandings” with Washington, according to a copy of the letter seen by Reuters.
The United States last month handed Syria a list of eight conditions it wants Damascus to fulfill, including destroying any remaining chemical weapons stockpiles and ensuring foreigners are not given senior governing roles.
Syria is in desperate need of sanctions relief to kickstart an economy collapsed by 14 years of war, during which the United States, Britain and Europe imposed tough sanctions in a bid to put pressure on former president Bashar al-Assad.
In January, the U.S. issued a six-month exemption for some sanctions to encourage aid, but this has had limited effect.
In exchange for fulfilling all the U.S. demands, Washington would extend that suspension for two years and possibly issue another exemption, sources told Reuters in March.
Reuters was first to report that senior U.S. official Natasha Franceschi handed the list of conditions to Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani at an in-person meeting on the sidelines of a Syria donor conference in Brussels on March 18.
Shibani, in his first address to the United Nations Security Council on Friday, sought to show that Syria was already addressing the demands, including on chemical weapons and the search for missing Americans in Syria.
His public comments were consistent with the contents of Syria’s private letter to the U.S., an undated copy of which was seen by Reuters. Its contents have not been previously reported.
Two Western officials and a Syrian official briefed on the letter said it was consistent with the copy seen by Reuters.
In the four-page document, Syria pledges to set up a liaison office at the foreign ministry to find missing U.S. journalist Austin Tice and details its work to tackle chemical weapons stockpiles, including closer ties with a global arms watchdog.
But it had less to say on other key demands, including removing foreign fighters and granting the U.S. permission for counterterrorism strikes, according to the letter.
A State Department spokesperson confirmed Washington had received a response from Syrian authorities to a U.S. request for them to take “specific, detailed confidence building measures”.
“We are now evaluating the response and do not have anything to share at this time,” the spokesperson said, adding that the U.S. “does not recognize any entity as the government of Syria and that any future normalization of relations will be determined by the interim authorities’ actions. ”
Syria’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
FOREIGN FIGHTERS
The letter said Syrian officials had discussed foreign fighters with former U.S. envoy Daniel Rubinstein but that the issue “requires a broader consultative session.”
“What can be confirmed for now is that the issuance of military ranks has been suspended following the earlier announcement regarding the promotion of six individuals,” the letter says, an apparent reference to the appointment in December of foreign fighters including Uyghurs, a Jordanian and a Turk to positions in the country’s armed force.
It did not say whether those appointed ranks had been removed from the foreign fighters and did not list future steps to be taken.
A source briefed on the Syrian government’s approach to the issue said Damascus would delay addressing it as much as possible given its view that non-Syrian rebels who helped oust Assad should be treated well.
On a U.S. request for coordination on counterterrorism matters and the ability to carry out strikes on terror targets, the letter said the “matter requires mutual understandings.”
It pledged that Syria’s new government would not tolerate any threats to U.S. or Western interests in Syria and vowed to put in place “appropriate legal measures,” without elaborating.
Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa had said in an interview earlier this year that U.S. troops deployed in Syria were there without government approval, adding any such presence should be agreed with the state.
A Syrian official briefed on the letter said Syrian officials were brainstorming other ways to weaken extremists without explicitly giving the U.S. permission to carry out strikes, seeing that as a controversial move after years of foreign air forces bombing Syria during its war.
VOWS NOT TO THREATEN ISRAEL
A senior diplomat and another person briefed on the letter told Reuters that they deemed it addressed five demands in full, but that the remaining were left “outstanding”.
They said the letter was sent on April 14 – just 10 days before Shibani arrived in New York to address the Security Council. It was unclear whether the United States had sent a reply to Syria’s letter.
A Syrian official and a U.S. source briefed on the letter both said Shibani was set to discuss its contents with U.S. officials during his trip to New York.
Syria’s letter said it hoped the actions taken, which it described as “guarantees,” could lead to a meeting to discuss each point in detail, including reopening embassies and lifting sanctions.
On Palestinian militants in Syria, it said Sharaa had formed a committee “to monitor the activities of Palestinian factions,” and that armed factions outside state control will not be permitted. It was sent just days before Syria detained two Palestinian officials from the Islamic Jihad militant group.
“While discussions on this matter can continue, the overarching position is that we will not allow Syria to become a source of threat to any party, including Israel,” it said.
The letter also acknowledged “ongoing communication” between Syria’s counterterrorism authorities and U.S. representatives in Amman over combating Islamic State, and said Syria was inclined to expand that collaboration. The direct talks between Syria and the U.S. in Amman have not previously been reported.
(Reporting by Timour Azhari and Maya Gebeily; Additional reporting by Michelle Nichols in New York and Humeyra Pamuk in Washington; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
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