US officials disclose conditions to lift Caesar sanctions on Syria: Kurdish official

WASHINGTON, USA ( North Press) – US officials revealed several terms the Syrian government and President Bashal al-Assad to abide by in order to lift the Caesar sanctions on Syria, Senior Syrian Kurdish official based in Washington said on Friday.
"US top officials say lifting sanctions [on Syria] may be possible if Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad accepts the idea that the military action will never lead to solution," Simen Muhammad, the representative of Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) in Washington, told North Press.

"[Assad] should accept political negotiation process and accept a real partnership with many other political parties [in the country]," she said, quoting US officials without identifying them.

"The [US] sanctions will be lifted [on Syria] if Assad gives up his fantasy of taking back all Syrian territories as it was before 2011."

SDC is the political wing of the Syrian Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the US ally in fighting against the Islamic State (ISIS) since 2014.

"I heard directly from senior officials in the US State Department that easing of sanctions is possible if Assad stops his tyrannical way of ruling," Muhammad said.

Muhammad also warned that very bad economic consequences may affect all Syrians, including the region of northern and eastern Syria, and that this may affect the fight against ISIS, and thus leading to the the return of terrorism to the various regions of Syria and the Iraqi-Syrian borders.

"Although we hear about attempts to spare SDF areas from the [US] sanctions, but it is impossible as long as the Syrian economical institutions are interrelated [in all Syrian territories held by government, Turkish-backed opposition, and US-backed SDF]," she said.

Muhammad also pointed to the several attempts by SDC to reconcile with the Syrian government and opposition parties, but Assad refuses to open up to the reality and insists that Syria must submit fully to his rule as it was before 2011.

“Despite the Republicans and Democrats demand to continue to apply Caesar sanctions as long as Assad remains on his authoritarian and exclusionary position on all other political components in Syria," she said.

She also added, "The US is open to discuss the issue of lifting sanctions and helping the Syrian economy to rise only if the Assad regime changes its behavior."

Muhammad also confirmed the readiness of international community to implement all strict measures to prevent Assad from returning to the situation that the country was  before the war erupted in 2011.

Syrian government blame Western sanctions for widespread hardship among ordinary residents, where the currency collapse has led to soaring prices and people struggling to afford food and basic supplies.

The government has also criticised a wave of new, tighter US sanctions, known as the Caesar Act, which takes effect later this month which economists and politicians say will further tighten the noose around Assad’s government.

(Additional reporting by Hadeel Oweis, North Press correspondent in Washington)