US Issues Demands To Jolani In Exchange For Syrian Sanctions Relief

On Tuesday Reuters is reporting one of the first high-level meeting between US government representatives and the post-Assad government in Syria.

Jolani's (al-Sharaa) Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) is still officially a US-designated terror group, but its Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shiban met with US Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Levant and Syria Natasha Franceschi on the sidelines of a March 18 European donors conference in Brussels on March 18.

This was reportedly for the US side to convey a list of demands, vowing that in return the HTS Syrian regime could receive sanctions relief.

The far-reaching sanctions in question had targeted the Assad government, but for years has unleashed broader suffering among the Syrian population - including lack of electricity, fuel shortages, limited medicines, and runaway inflation.

Interestingly one of the key demands is for the destruction of any remaining chemical weapons stores. Since Assad's ouster on December 8, Israel has bombed the country repeatedly, targeting former army bases as well as known chemical weapons production sites.

The US is also reportedly demanding that foreign fighters not be installed in top government posts - though this has already happened. Self-declared President Sharaa (Jolani) himself is a former ISIS and AQ operative.

According to more details of the US list via Al Jazeera:

Syria has already appointed some foreign ex-rebels, including Uyghurs, a Jordanian and a Turk, to its defence ministry — a move that alarmed foreign governments.

Washington also asked Syria to appoint a liaison to assist US efforts to find Austin Tice, the US journalist who went missing in Syria more than a decade ago, according to the two US officials and both sources in Washington.

In return for fulfilling all the demands, Washington would provide some sanctions relief, all six sources said. The sources did not specify what relief would be offered, and said Washington did not provide a specific timeline for the conditions to be fulfilled.

Another question which remains will be the fate of Syria's oil and gas fields in the northeast. Currently they are under US military occupation, and historically have provided enough energy to satisfy Syria's domestic needs. 

The Syrian Kurds have just struck a deal for integration into Syrian state institutions. This means the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) will have closer cooperation with Damascus, possibly eventually handing over the oil fields.