While the US loudly applauded the regime change in Syria back in December, their interaction with the new Islamist government in Damascus has been fairly limited. It is now being reported that the US sent Syria a list of demands, and offered “partial sanctions relief” if they complied.
A lot of the details are still emerging on this offer, but the demands include disposing of all chemical weapons, forbidding foreign jihadist fighters from senior government positions, and appointing a liaison to the US to help them look for Austin Tice.
The chemical weapon demand may be a difficult one to comply with at a satisfactory level. The Assad government had already disavowed chemical weapons over a decade ago, and in 2017 the US accused them of a chemical attack, one which the Assad government insisted never happened.
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) confirmed in 2013 that Syria had destroyed critical equipment at all 23 of their chemical weapon sites. The last of their chemical weapon stockpile was removed from Syria by the UN in June of 2014.
Between that and Israel hitting what they claimed were “chemical weapons sites” in Syria in December, it’s not at all clear what the US even thinks the Syrian government might have anymore, and the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) convincing the US they’re giving up “everything” will be no small task since the US never believed Assad or the OPCW the last time they disarmed.
Barring foreign jihadists from senior positions would likely require a substantial re-juggling of the HTS government as well, depending on how “senior” is defined. The HTS has included a lot of foreign jihadists in high ranking positions in their new defense ministry.
De facto President Ahmed al-Sharaa, the leader of the HTS, has the most senior position there is in Syria. Sharaa (formerly known as Abu Mohammad al-Jolani) was a top leader in al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), so it’s unthinkable he wouldn’t be considered a jihadist as well. The same is true of effectively all the HTS leadership, whether foreign or not.
Austin Tice is a freelance journalist who went missing in 2012. The HTS appointing a liaison to help the US look for him is the easiest ask of the publicly reported demands, though actually finding him so many years after he disappeared in Damascus is going to be a challenge.
The “sanctions relief” offered in return looks incredibly minor, only including a two-year exemption allowing transactions with Syrian government institutions and a report that the US would issue a statement in support of Syria’s territorial integrity. Though a statement of territorial integrity might be of some value to Syria since Israel is actively invading and occupying their territory, history suggests such a US statement would have little backing behind it, and presumably would not include any direct criticism of the ongoing Israeli incursions.
