Support for Syria: Riyadh hosts Arab, EU diplomats for talks

AFP :

Top diplomats from the Middle East and Europe arrived in the Saudi capital on Sunday to discuss Syria, as world powers push for stability after the fall of Bashar al-Assad.
Saudi Arabia, the Middle East’s biggest economy, is seeking to increase its influence in Syria after Islamist-led rebels toppled Assad last month, analysts say.
The talks will include a meeting of Arab officials as well as a broader gathering also including Turkey, France, the European Union and the United Nations, a Saudi official told AFP.
Syria’s new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, who led the main rebel group in the alliance that overthrew Assad, is pushing for sanctions relief. His administration is represented at the Riyadh talks by Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani.
Western powers, including the United States and the European Union, imposed sanctions on Assad’s government over his brutal crackdown on anti-government protests in 2011, which triggered civil war.
More than 13 years of conflict have killed over half a million Syrians, left infrastructure destroyed and the people impoverished, while millions have fled their homes, including to Europe.
The United States Treasury Department said last Monday it would ease enforcement on restrictions affecting essential services including energy and sanitation.
But US officials say they will wait to see progress before any wider easing of sanctions.
The European Union’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said on Friday that the 27-nation bloc could begin lifting sanctions if Syria’s new rulers took steps to form an inclusive government that protected minorities.