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Syria’s top diplomat to meet US State Department officials in New York
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Syria’s top diplomat, Assad al-Shaibani, is scheduled to meet US officials from the State Department later Tuesday in New York, US officials told Al Arabiya English
Asaad al-Shaibani, who is in New York to attend meetings at the United Nations, was granted a limited visa to enter the US, Al Arabiya English reported last week.
Reuters was first to report about the US-Shaibani meeting, which also said that he was expected to press Washington for a clear roadmap toward permanent sanctions relief for Syria.
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Asked about the meeting, State Department Spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said that the US was not normalizing diplomatic relations with Syria at this time, but did not publicly confirm the scheduled sit-down.
Last week, he raised the three-star flag of Syria’s uprising as the official Syrian flag 14 years after the war erupted.
The meeting is the first between US officials and al-Shaibani that is taking place on US territory and comes after Syria responded earlier this month to a list of conditions set by Washington for possible partial sanctions relief.
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 US issued a six-month exemption for some sanctions to encourage aid, but this has had limited effect.
Damascus is keen to hear a realistic timeline from the United States for permanent sanctions relief, one of the sources said.
With Reuters
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