After years of punishment intended to continue pressure on previous Arab chief Bashar al-Assad, the United States has begun issuing the fresh licenses to let some monetary transactions inside Syria.
On Jan. 6, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control ( OFAC ) announced a , general license , permitting a range of transactions in Syria. OFAC indicates they’re also keeping an eye on post-Assad Syria, and the permit is good for a six-month period ending on July 7.
” During this period of change, Treasury may continue to support humanitarian aid and dependable leadership in Syria”, Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo , said.
The action comes after Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham ( HTS), a Sunni Islamist organization that the US has designated as a terrorist organization, launched a surprise offensive against Syria that Assad had controlled. Units is a relaunch of Jabhat al-Nusra, which was itself an outgrowth of al-Qaeda.
The HTS-led rude began in late November, and by Dec. 8, Assad chose to escape to Russia, ending his 24-year tenure as president of Syria.
In a multi-sided civil war that has spread across Syria, pro-Assad troops have fought to keep him in authority since 2011. Even though the pro-Assad forces have either surrendered or fled the country, various groups that have fought throughout the legal conflict are still at odds.
HTS established a caretaker government with many members in positions of power after capturing Damascus, the capital of Syria. President Joe Biden’s leadership has shown a willingness to give them some breathing space since Assad’s government’s demise despite continuing to support the criminal organization designation against HTS.
Last month, the Biden administration  , retracted a$ 10 million bounty , against HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammad al-Jolani. Barbara A. The same day the presidency dropped the reward, Sharaa, the assistant secretary of state for around eastern affairs, and Lead met with her in Syria.
Leaf claimed that the HTS innovator made some “pragmatic and modest” statements during their meeting and that the decision to drop the bounty was to help her discussion with Sharaa.
This latest move to ease sanctions against Syria also followed urging from several U. S. lawmakers, including Reps. Joe Wilson (R-SC ) and Brendan Boyle (D-PA ). Wilson and Boyle authored a , letter , to the presidency next month, encouraging it to start targeted restrictions. The two politicians claimed that in order to keep Assad at conflict with Arab nation, rebuilding and economic growth that the United States helped stop during the Assad years were needed.
The Treasury Department said this innovative registration had “help guarantee that sanctions do not restrict vital services and continuity of governance functions across Syria, including the provision of electricity, energy, water, and sanitation”.
This registration, according to the Treasury Department, won’t bypass any freezing assets held by sanctioned users of the Assad state, the Central Bank of Syria, or HTS, nor will it permit deals with sanctioned individuals. Trades for “noncommercial, individual payments to Syria, including through the Central Bank of Syria,” may be permitted under the certificates. Deals that facilitate the flow of fuel and energy for the nation are also permitted by the certificate.
How the novel HTS-led caregiver authorities will guide the nation in the coming years is still to be seen. Sharaa claimed that the HTS people ‘ inclusion in positions of power was intended as a first step toward stabilizing the nation rather than a snub against the other parties that have fought against Assad over the years.
Sharaa has stated that he anticipates that the various groups will convene for a nationwide meeting in March to start laying out a more comprehensive plan for post-Assad Syria. However, he has said he expects it does take , up to three years to draft , a fresh constitution, and another year later to do a population census and organize a second set of elections.
This article was originally , published , by , FreeBase News , and is reprinted with permission.
