Swiss foreign minister says no immediate plan to ease Syria sanctions
Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, left, and Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs Asaad Hasan AlShaibani attend the Annual Meeting of World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Select your language
Generated with artificial intelligence.
Listening: Swiss foreign minister says no immediate plan to ease Syria sanctions
Swiss foreign minister Ignazio Cassis met the de facto foreign minister of Syria at the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Wednesday. Following the meeting, Cassis said there was no immediate plan to ease sanctions against the transitional government.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA
العربية
ar
وزير الخارجية السويسري: لا خطط فورية لتخفيف العقوبات المفروضة على سوريا
Syria’s acting foreign minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaybani is currently considered a terrorist in Switzerland. Foreign Minister Cassis told the media at the WEF in Davos that these and other sanctions would “certainly not” be eased for the time being.
He first wants to see facts from the transitional government, which emerged from the Islamist group HTS. Responses regarding an inclusive transition process were “very vague”, said Cassis.
Since the fall of long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad, the new leadership in Syria has been trying to establish new diplomatic relations worldwide. Speaking at a televised event at the WEF with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, al-Shaybani told the audience that “the big challenge is economic sanctions. We inherited a lot of problems from the Assad regime… but removing economic sanctions is key for the stability of Syria”.
Cassis also met Israeli President Isaac Herzog to discuss the next steps in the ceasefire and the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Israel plans to implement laws banning the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) at the end of the month. Cassis told Israeli President that the new laws should not prevent the agency from continuing its work.
Translated from German by DeepL/jdp
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
Popular Stories
More
Demographics
Flat-hunting in Switzerland’s cheapest and most expensive municipalities
Train vs plane: would you take a direct train between London and Geneva?
Eurostar is planning to run direct trains from Britain to Germany and Switzerland from the early 2030s. Would you favour the train over the plane? If not, why not?
Ex-employee of Bank Pictet convicted of money laundering
This content was published on
The Geneva-based bank Pictet has been fined CHF2 million for shortcomings in its organisation which enabled a former asset manager to commit serious money laundering.
20 Minuten: last Swiss free daily to stop being printed
This content was published on
From the end of the year, there will no longer be a daily free newspaper in Switzerland: the TX Group is discontinuing the print version of "20 Minuten". Up to 80 full-time positions are to be cut in the editorial and publishing departments.
This content was published on
The Swiss population is in favour of compulsory military service and closer ties with NATO. These are the findings of the "Security 2025" study.
Irregular migration to Switzerland halves year-on-year
This content was published on
Irregular migration to Switzerland has decreased significantly. The figures from January to May show that only half as many illegal stays were recorded compared to the same period last year.
This content was published on
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is to cut around 3,500 jobs as a result of financial cuts linked in particular to US decisions. Hundreds of temporary contracts will also be cut, the UN agency said in Geneva on Monday.
Swiss government to help cantons in expelling rejected asylum-seekers
This content was published on
The federal government is to provide greater relief and support to the cantons when it comes to deporting people who are not entitled to asylum in Switzerland.
This content was published on
One in four people in Switzerland feels stressed often or almost always. Among the under-30s, the figure is as high as 40%.
This content was published on
The permafrost in the Swiss Alps is thawing faster and faster. The thawed top layers of permafrost have never been as thick as they were last year. This is shown by the latest data from the Swiss permafrost monitoring network Permos.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.