European Union foreign ministers have agreed to begin lifting sanctions on Syria, but insist that the measures should be reimposed if they see any abuses by the country’s new rulers.

A six-phase “road map” prepared by the EU’s foreign service advocates a “staged approach” to lifting sanctions on the country “to incentivise peaceful transition and reconstruction”. An arms embargo, sanctions on equipment used for internal repression and measures targeting Assad regime officials would be exempt, the document states.

European Union foreign ministers have agreed on a roadmap to ease sanctions on Syria, the bloc's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Monday. "While we aim to move fast, the lifting of sanctions can be reversed if wrong steps are taken,

EU foreign ministers on Monday agreed to begin easing sanctions on Syria after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad in December, the bloc's top diplomat said. "While we aim to move fast, the lifting of sanctions can be reversed if wrong steps are taken,

"Regarding Syria, we are going to decide today to lift, to suspend, certain sanctions that had applied to the energy and transport sectors and to financial institutions that were key to the financial stabilisation of the country," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on arrival at the EU meeting in Brussels.

The European Union may soon suspend sanctions on Syria related to energy and transport but has yet to agree on whether to ease restrictions on financial transactions, according to three diplomats and a document seen by Reuters.

EU foreign ministers on Monday agreed to begin easing sanctions on Syria after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad, as the West looks to build bridges with the war-ravaged country's new leadership. "This could give a boost to the Syrian economy and help the country get back on its feet,

The EU foreign ministers have agreed on a roadmap to lift sanctions on Syria, contingent on the new leadership's commitment to peace and inclusion.

The European Union is considering a step-by-step suspension of multiple economic sanctions targeting Syria as it seeks to support the country’s transition, while retaining some leverage, according to two internal documents seen by Reuters.

By NewsBase News Desk European Union foreign ministers endorsed a roadmap for the lifting of sanctions against Syria on 27 January during a meeting in Brussels. The ministers agreed to take initial steps towards easing the tough,