The EU had previously agreed to gradually ease sanctions it imposed on the country as a result of the violent 2011 crackdown on protesters by Assad’s government, resulting in a civil war that killed hundreds of thousands of people.
Assad, who ruled Syria with an iron fist for almost a quarter of a century, fled to Russia after opposition forces swept the country and stormed the Syrian capital in December. The country is now governed by a new president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani.
The EU continues to list Al-Sharaa’s organization, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, as a terrorist organization, while European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in December warned that the regime change in Syria “offers opportunities but is not without risks.”