International sanctions against Syria
"[13][14] The first sanctions applied on the country after the outbreak of the crisis was on 29 April 2011, after an executive order was issued by President Barack Obama to block property of those involved in the violations.Sanctions ban Australians from all transactions related to weaponry, oil & natural gas, precious metals, petro-chemicals, toxic substances, banking partnerships, etc.[18] In June 2012, several non-EU countries like Georgia, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Iceland, Serbia, Albania, Liechtenstein, Norway and Moldova also joined the European Union's sanctions against Syria.[40][41] During the 2023 Munich security conference, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud remarked that some dialogue would be necessary with Damascus, at least to address humanitarian issues, including a return of refugees, especially after the 2023 earthquake, and that "not just among the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) but in the Arab world there is a consensus growing that the status quo (to isolate Syria) is not workable”.[42] At the same conference, Kuwaiti foreign minister Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah told Reuters that his country was opposed to normalization with Bashar al-Assad and stated that Kuwait provided financial assistance to earthquake victims through international organisations and Turkey.[45] A day earlier, China' envoy to the United Nations also called for unilateral sanctions to be lifted "to give children hit by war and quakes hopes for survival".[47] On 18 March 2023, National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine put into effect a range of sanctions targeting 141 firms and 300 individuals linked to Syria, including those affiliated with Russian weapons manufacturers and Iranian dronemakers.[53] In late March 2023, Turkey also had taken the path of easing economic sanctions against Syria, as Erdogan is seeking a "bilateral normalization effort" with his Syrian counterpart Bashar Al-Assad, according to Le Monde.Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan will travel to Damascus to discuss further steps to readmit Syria to the Arab League and reduce economic sanctions.[56] At the same time, Egypt was also in advanced talks with Bashar al-Assad when Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met his Syrian counterpart in Cairo.Saudi Arabia advocated lifting sanctions to aid reconstruction, while six EU nations proposed temporary relief in sectors like energy and banking to support humanitarian efforts.[69][70] After the 2023 earthquakes, charity fundraising attempts towards supporting family members in government and opposition regions of Syria on the GoFundMe platform were blocked due to sanctions while the platform continued to only allow transfers to pre-approved registered NGOs and suspended other accounts attempting to send money to Syria for fear of non-compliance with U.S sanctions relating to banks and payment processors.After the U.S. and the EU temporarily lifted some minor sanctions subsequent to the 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake, and the Middle East further destabilised during the 2023 Israel-Hamas war, an increase of Syrian refugees entering Western Europe via Cyprus was again clearly observed.[14] More recently, and especially in the 2020s with the normalisation of Syria's international relations, a number of countries, such as China, Iran, Russia, the United Arab Emirates and humanitarian organizations have called for the sanctions to be lifted.[84][85] Critics argue that Bashar al-Assad had weaponized humanitarian relief efforts as a tool to punish people in opposition-held territories, throughout the course of the civil war.[86] Muslim-American civic organization Emgage said that sanctions did not bear impact on humanitarian aid, instead criticizing Russian and Iranian governments for obscuring "Assad's role in destroying the country" and economic mismanagement.