New York [US], November 7 : The United Nations Security Council has passed a resolution removing Syria's transitional President Ahmed al-Sharaa and the country's home minster, Anas Hasan Khattab, from the UN sactions list.
All members of the 15-member council voted on Thursday (local time) on a US-sponsored resolution to remove the pair from the list of individuals, groups, undertakings and entities targeted by sanctions. China abstained from voting saying that the draft's sponsor pushed the text forward to serve its own interests
The development comes ahead of al-Sharaa's upcoming meeting with Donald Trump in the White House on Monday.
"Now is Syria's chance at greatness," said the representative of the United States, whose delegation sponsored Resolution 2729 in the UNSC.
China abstained from the vote stating that while the UNSC held multiple rounds of consultations, in which Beijing expressed legitimate concerns about terrorism, including foreign terrorist fighters in Syria the US pushed the text forward to serve its own interests.
"Syria is in a precarious state" in which many foreign terrorist fighters -- including members of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement -- continue to threaten the country's security and stability, according to China's permanent representative to the UN, Fu Cong, who urged the new Syrian Government to win the trust of the international community.
Acting under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, the council declared that the Syrian President and the home minister were no longer subject to asset freezes or travel bans imposed under previous counterterrorism measures.
The Security Council in a statement said that it has decided to remove the two individuals from its Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da'esh) and Al-Qaida sanctions list. The UNSC also reaffirmed its "strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and national unity of the Syrian Arab Republic."
Washington's ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, said that with the resolution, the Council is sending a "clear political signal" in recognition of Syria's "new era". He noted that the new Government is working to fulfil its commitments on counterterrorism. The delisting, said the US permanent representative to the UN, will help give the Syrian people the best possible chance for a stable and prosperous future.
United Nations had first imposed sanctions on Al-Sharaa in May 2014. The US first introduced sanctions in 1979 and expanded significantly after the beginning of the civil war in Syria in the year 2011. Under the sanctions there were restrictions on trade, investment and energy exports. In May this year, Washington lifted most of its sanctions on Syria.
Al-Sharaa had led the Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) coalition during the December 2024 offensive that toppled the previous Bashar al-Assad regime, after which he became the de facto leader of Syria. The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham was al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria until al-Sharaa cut off ties in 2016.
In September, he became the first Syrian leader to address the UN General Assembly in New York in almost 60 years.
The United Kingdom's representative to the UN welcomed progress made by the Syrian Government to advance the country's political transition, as well as to address terrorism and the threat posed by chemical weapons. The representatives of the Russian Federation and France both emphasized the importance of supporting Syria's economic recovery, alongside its political transition.
Syria's representative to UN, Ibrahim Olabi welcomed the adoption of the UNSC resolution and noted that the text aligns with "the historic and courageous decision of President Trump to support Syria".
"We consider [this resolution] a sign of a growing confidence in the new Syria, its people and its leadership," he said, describing it as a "badge of honour".
Syria is turning the page on war and suffering, he stressed, and building a modern State founded on the rule of law. "Damascus continues to extend its hand to all countries of the world," he said, striving to be a meeting point for East and West as reported by UN news.
Meanwhile, the Syrian President al-Sharaa participated in activites of the summit of heads of states and government within the 30th session of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30), held in the city of Belem, Brazil on Thursday.