European legislators have decided to ease certain sanctions against Syrian Arab Airlines, following the collapse of the Bashar Al-Assad government.
The European Council states that it is suspending a number of restrictive measures against Syrian entities in order to facilitate recovery in the energy, financial and transport sectors.
It has identified Syrian Arab Airlines among five entities which have been subject to freezing of funds and economic resources.
The Council says it will “remove” these five entities from this sanctions list.
This decision is part of the European Union’s efforts to support an inclusive political transition in Syria, as well as swift economic recovery, reconstruction, and stabilisation,” it states.
“As a part of a gradual approach and in a next step, the Council will assess whether further restrictive measures could be suspended.”
The sanctions have been used to pressure the Al-Assad government which, the Council says, was responsible for “violent repression” of the civilian population.
“Fall of the Al-Assad regime marks the beginning of a new era of hope for the Syrian people,” it adds.
But it stresses that it will maintain “close monitoring” of the situation to establish whether the suspensions “remain appropriate”.
Several sanctions relating to the Al-Assad government, the chemical weapons sector, arms trade and other areas will remain in place.
Humanitarian exemptions have been extended indefinitely.
Syrian Arab Airlines was included on a European Union list of financially-sanctioned entities in July 2012, owing to its being a “public company controlled by the [Al-Assad] regime” which “provides financial support for the regime”.
