Russia and Iran must stay out of Syria if it wants sanctions relief, leading US senator says

The head of the Senate's foreign policy committee outlined demands on Thursday for US sanctions relief for Syria, including eliminating Russian and Iranian influence inside the country, as the new government in Damascus increases engagement with Moscow.

Republican Jim Risch, who leads the powerful foreign relations committee that has oversight of the State Department, laid out a four-point list of expectations for Syria's transitional government under President Ahmad Al Shara.

The list also includes providing evidence that the interim government will not allow Syria to become a launch pad for terrorist attacks against the US and its partners, the destruction of the Assad regime's Captagon stockpile, and an account of American citizens detained by former president Bashar Al Assad's regime, including journalist Austin Tice.

Mr Risch urged President Donald Trump's administration to “take this up as soon as possible” and work the demands into its burgeoning Syria policy.

“Time is of the essence … Let's see how the new interim government acts, and if that happens, we will continue in a stream of lifting those sanctions,” Mr Risch said at a committee hearing on post-Assad Syria.

The list clarifies a bipartisan consensus that there should be targeted, phased sanctions relief for the new Syrian government.

But the removal of Russia from Syria, which has a long-standing and entrenched relationship with Damascus, will be difficult. Since the fall of the Assad regime, there have been signals that Moscow’s role in Syria may be pivoting rather than outright vanishing.

The policy demands come the same week that the new government in Damascus had its first engagement with Russian President Vladimir Putin since the downfall of Mr Al Assad.

The Kremlin announced on Wednesday that Mr Putin held a phone call with Mr Al Shara, as Moscow attempts to retain the use of its naval and airbases in the country.

Sameer Saboungi, staff attorney and policy officer at the American Coalition for Syria group of humanitarian organisations, argued that relief should come at a faster pace.

“What I noticed was missing from the hearing was the fact that the first benchmark, the first milestone, is the removal of the Assad regime. That has been achieved,” he told The National, adding that Europe is “outpacing” the US in relief efforts.

And amid the Trump administration's freeze on US aid, Damascus is “going to have to turn east, inevitably”.

“When we say that … we want to see Russia and Iran permanently outside, are we ready to come in their place? If we are keeping Syria at an arm's distance, we're really not giving Syria any other option,” Mr Saboungi said.

US aid funds have been going to humanitarian projects that could help Damascus achieve some of Mr Risch's demands – groups working for accountability, such as the Syrian Justice and Accountability Centre, are among the groups affected by the aid freeze.

Already, the aid freeze impeded security efforts at ISIS holding camps and prisons in Syria's north-east, where guards refused to work until US Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued an emergency waiver that released their salaries.

The foreign relations committee's top Democrat, Senator Jeanne Shaheen, confirmed on Thursday that she has spoken with Mr Rubio about expediting more waivers for Syria.

Based on those discussions, it is her understanding that the administration has “an appreciation for the importance of getting waivers, particularly in certain areas, like the detention camps”, Ms Shaheen told The National.

Michael Singh, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Middle East Policy think tank, argued in testimony to the committee that even with the resumption of aid, sanctions relief is “the most powerful tool” Washington has in boosting a struggling Syrian economy.