(12 Jan 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – 12 January 2025
1. Various of foreign ministers arriving for the Riyadh meeting on Syria
2. Various of German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock arriving and speaking to the media
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Annalena Baerbock, German Foreign Minister:
"Sanctions against (Bashar) Assad’s henchmen who committed serious crimes during the civil war must remain in place. But Germany proposes to take a smart approach to sanctions, providing rapid relief for the Syrian population. Syrians now need a quick dividend from the transition of power, and we continue to help those in Syria who have nothing, as we have done all the years of civil war."
4. Baerbock speaking to the media
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Annalena Baerbock, German Foreign Minister:
"We will stand with the people of Syria to contribute to a peaceful transition for everyone. This is not only necessary to help, it’s also an investment in our own security in Germany and in Europe to prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State, something we also expect from the new leadership in Damascus."
6. Various of foreign ministers and officials arriving
7. Various of foreign ministers during the meeting
STORYLINE:
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Sunday sanctions against former Syrian President Bashar Assad’s "henchmen who committed serious crimes” must remain in place.
But she called for “a smart approach to sanctions, providing rapid relief for the Syrian population.
Annalena Baerbock spoke to reporters after arriving in Saudi Arabia for a conference on Syria’s future attended by top European and Middle Eastern diplomats.
Germany is one of several countries that imposed sanctions on Syria after Assad’s brutal crackdown on the 2011 uprising against his rule and tightened them as the conflict spiralled into war.
Some of the measures are against individuals in Assad’s government, including freezing of assets.
But many target the government in general, including bans on many financial and banking dealings, on oil purchases and on investment or trade in some sectors, crippling the wider Syrian economy.
"Sanctions against Assad’s henchmen who committed serious crimes during the civil war must remain in place," Baerbock said.
"But Germany proposes to take a smart approach to sanctions, providing rapid relief for the Syrian population. Syrians now need a quick dividend from the transition of power."
Baerbock did not elaborate but announced an additional 50 million euros ($51.2 million) in German aid for food, emergency shelters and medical care.
AP video shot by Baraa Anwer
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