Syrians marked Wednesday a month since the ouster of longtime dictator Assad in a lightning offensive by an anti-regime alliance.
The alliance, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), has since moved swiftly to stabilize the country, especially the law-order situation in war-ravaged Syria.
It set up a caretaker government, spearheaded by HTS leader al-Sharaa, who on Dec. 23, announced that all weapons across the country, including those held by the PKK/YPG terrorists, would be placed under state control.
The anti-regime groups then reached an agreement on their dissolution and integration into the country's regular defense forces.
Al-Sharaa and his Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani have opened all diplomatic channels, saying the country was ready to engage with the rest of the world and urged the international community to lift sanctions.
It has hosted key foreign diplomatic delegations, starting with close ally Türkiye as well as from Arab and European states.
The newly appointed foreign minister, al-Shaibani, in the meantime, traveled to key Arab countries, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Jordan.
The Salvation Government has also worked tirelessly to restore normalcy and revive economic activity in the country.
It has since reopened Syria's main airport in the capital Damascus for civilian flights.
The interim government has also procured the services of offshore power plants from Türkiye and Qatar to solve a chronic power shortage.
It has, however, set out a long timeline for holding elections saying it could take up to three years to draft a new constitution and four years to hold an election.
The one-month milestone comes, as Germany and France are leading EU efforts to swiftly lift sanctions on Syria as the country marked Wednesday a month since the overthrow of dictator Bashar Assad.
France's top diplomat Jean-Noel Barrot said Wednesday that EU sanctions that obstruct the delivery of humanitarian aid and hinder Syria's recovery could be lifted soon.
Speaking to France Inter radio, Barrot said the EU could take a similar decision soon without giving precise timing while adding that lifting more political sanctions would depend on how Syria's new leadership handled the transition and ensured exclusivity.
"There are other (sanctions), which today hinder access to humanitarian aid, which hinder the recovery of the country. These could be lifted quickly," said Barrot, who met Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa on Friday with Germany's foreign minister.
"Finally, there are other sanctions, which we are discussing with our European partners, which could be lifted, but obviously depending on the pace at which our expectations for Syria regarding women and security are taken into account."
Earlier Tuesday, FT cited German Foreign Ministry sources to report the country's efforts in the sanctions relief process.
"We are actively discussing ways to provide sanctions relief to the Syrian people in certain sectors," one of the sources said. This requires a unanimous EU decision.
Germany's Foreign Ministry, however, declined to comment.
German officials first circulated thoughts on easing sanctions on Damascus in documents sent to Brussels before Christmas.
The documents reportedly outline how the EU could gradually ease restrictions on Damascus in return for progress on social issues, including safeguarding minority and women's rights and upholding commitments to ensuring non-proliferation of weapons.
The FT, citing an unnamed source familiar with the EU discussions, added that, like Washington, the bloc could make any easing of sanctions temporary to ensure that it could be reversed if necessary.
Meanwhile, the United States on Monday issued a sanctions exemption for transactions with governing institutions in Syria for six months after the end of Assad's rule to try to ease the flow of humanitarian assistance.
Three European diplomats speaking on condition of anonymity said the EU would seek to agree to lift some sanctions by the time the bloc's 27 foreign ministers meet in Brussels on Jan. 27.
Two of the diplomats said one aim was to facilitate financial transactions to allow funds to return to the country, ease air transport and lessen sanctions targeting the energy sector to improve power supplies.
Syria suffers from severe power shortages, with state-supplied electricity available two or three hours per day in most areas. The caretaker government says it aims to provide electricity for up to eight hours per day within two months.
The U.S. waivers allow some energy transactions and personal remittances to Syria until July 7 but do not remove any sanctions.
