American Syriac Union: No relief from American sanctions without critical commitments from Syrian Transitional Government

WASHINGTON D.C. — The American Syriac Union (ASU) recently commented on the announcement by US President Donald Trump’s announcement that American sanctions on Syria will be eased or lifted. Trump made the announcement last week during the Saudi-US Investment Forum in Riyadh, stating the sanctions “were brutal and crippling,” but served an important function. 

In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, the American Syriac Union welcomes the decision to potentially ease or lift American sanctions, but at the same urged for caution. The ASU stated that it welcomes such relief efforts, but now that the policy is moving towards implementation, says that “it is imperative that any sanctions relief be conditioned on core principles of dignity, rights, and security for all Syrians.”  

The US government must explicitly tie easing or cessation of sanctions to critical commitments from the Syrian Transitional Government (STG), said the ASU. The three commitments concern local policing, equality before the law, and the prevention of the resurgence of terrorist organizations like that of the Islamic State (ISIS). 

With regards to local policing, ASU calls for a community-based model where policing is put in the hands of the local population of the area. This will create trust, reduce tensions, and helps rebuild the social fabric. In Christian or Druze areas, policing should be left to Christians and Druze respectively. Armed groups which “operate outside these principles and exacerbate instability” must be withdrawn from those areas.  

A failure to eliminate jihadi extremist threats and to build a state on the foundations of democracy, pluralism and participation of all ethnicities, cultures, and religions, “would have dire consequences for all Syrians,” the statement concluded.   

“If the United States is committed to sustainable peace and the protection of Syria’s pluralistic society, sanctions must not merely be punitive — but serve as a principal instrument to demand genuine reform, equal rights, and security for all.”