The UK on Thursday lifted sanctions imposed during the rule of the former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad against 24 entities including Syria’s Central Bank, a statement said.
The UK government said last month it planned to ease sanctions after Syria’s new leaders, former rebels who toppled Assad, sought to persuade Western capitals that they had moved past their jihadist origins.
Unveiling an updated sanctions list on Thursday, the Treasury said: “24 entries have been removed from the consolidated list and are no longer subject to an asset freeze.”
The lifting of the sanctions applies to firms in the energy, transport and finance sectors.
They include Syrian Arab Airlines, the General Petroleum Corporation (GPC) and a string of banks including the Agricultural Cooperative Bank and the Commercial Bank of Syria.
The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the decision in a statement as a “positive step that will provide much-needed relief to the Syrian people” and contribute to the country’s “economic and political recovery process”.
But hundreds of sanctions remain in place against individuals and entities.
Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty said last month that any changes to the sanctions aimed “to support the Syrian people in re-building their country and promote security and stability”.
But he said the UK government remained “determined to hold Bashar al-Assad and his associates to account for their actions against the people of Syria”.
Asset freezes and travel bans imposed on members of the former government would remain in force, he said.
