Syria sanctions relief premature for now, top EU official says

The EU will not lift sanctions on Syria before its new rulers ensure minorities are not persecuted and women's rights are protected within a unified government that disavows religious extremism, the EU's top diplomat said.

An EU foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels on Monday, which had Syria on the agenda, would not discuss expanding financial support to the country beyond that already provided by the EU through United Nations agencies, the European Union's new foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said.

"One of the questions is whether we are able to, in the future, look at the adaptation of the sanctions regime. But this clearly is not the question of today, but rather in the future where we have seen that the steps go in the right direction," Kallas told Reuters in an interview.

While the EU has in place a tough sanctions regime against Syria, the rebel group that led the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad —Hayat Tahrir Al Sham — has also been under sanctions for years, complicating matters for the international community.

The EU was already the biggest donor of humanitarian aid to Syria, Kallas said.

"We need to discuss what more can we do. But as I say, it can't come as a blank cheque," Kallas added.

She was speaking after attending a conference in Jordan on Saturday that brought together regional and Western powers to discuss Syria's post-Assad future. Diplomats agreed that protection of Syria's minorities was a major concern.

"Syria faces a hopeful but uncertain future," said Kallas, who is making her first visit to the Middle East in her new post.

"Without accountability there is no justice, and without justice it's also very hard to build the country," she added.