Syria's neighboring foreign ministers call for lifting sanctions and reconciliation

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Syria's top diplomat and his counterparts from neighboring countries Sunday called for the lifting of Western-led sanctions on Syria and post-war reconciliation.

The foreign ministers of Turkey, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon made their remarks alongside Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani following a meeting in the Jordanian capital Amman.

They come following days of clashes between Syrian security forces and insurgents of the minority Alawite community loyal to the deposed Bashar Assad government in Syria's coastal province. Some rights groups say hundreds of civilians, mostly Alawite, were killed in revenge attacks after the fighting broke out. The Associated Press could not independently verify those numbers.

The United States and Europe have been hesitant to lift sanctions on Syria before there is a clear political transition that is democratic and inclusive of Syria’s minorities and civil society. At the same time, the country desperately needs money to rebuild after years of war and pull millions out of poverty. The United Nations estimates that some 90% of Syria’s population lives in poverty.

“We are protecting all components of the Syrian people, and we do not discriminate between them. We will not allow the repetition of the tragedies of the Syrian people,” said al-Shibani.

Syria's new Islamist authorities under interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa have struggled to convince the United States and Europe to lift sanctions to start rebuilding the country after 13 years of war and reconcile with the Kurds in the northeast and Druze in the south to exert state authority across the country.

The weekend's violence appears likely to stymie attempts to remove sanctions in the immediate future. The U.S. and U.N. released statements condemning the killing of civilians, which U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described as being carried out by “radical Islamist terrorists, including foreign jihadis.” He called for Damascus to hold the perpetrators accountable.

Also on Sunday, al-Sharaa announced the formation of a committee tasked with investigating the violence in coastal communities, including “violations against civilians” and another one tasked with “maintaining civil peace.”

Al-Sharaa said in a video statement that the outbreak of violence was part of “attempts by remnants of the former regime, with foreign parties behind them, to create new strife and drag our country to a civil war, with the goal of dividing it and destroying its unity and stability.”

He said the country’s new authorities “will not tolerate the remnants of Assad who committed crimes against our army forces and state institutions” and promised to “hold accountable with all firmness and without leniency anyone who was involved in the blood of civilians or harmed our people.”

It remained to be seen whether those measures will succeed in calming the situation and reassuring both Syrians and the international community.

Syria's neighbors fear that the country's pulverized economy and internal tensions could impact their own stability.

“Stability in Syria requires dialogue with the country's various components,” said Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein at a joint news conference.

The foreign ministers were critical of what they said was foreign intervention in the region after Israeli troops conducted military operations in southern Syria and seized a U.N. buffer zone that divides Syria from the Golan Heights, which Israel seized and annexed in 1967. On Sunday, the Israeli commanding officers visited and assessed the buffer zone.

Turkish Foreign Minister Fidan welcomed the “historic” meeting and called for cooperation to decrease tension in Syria, and said he alongside others will work against sleeper cells belonging to the extremist Islamic State group and affiliates of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party in Syria and Iraq.

“This is a regional problem. Regardless of our ideals we should all combat IS as well as the PKK, they are both terrorist entities,” he added.

Iraq's foreign minister warned that IS sleeper cells are growing in numbers.

“We need to take the initiative first in exchanging views and information about (the Islamic State group's) latest operations and especially their expansion not only on the Syrian borders with Iraq and Jordan but also their expansion in the Syrian land,” said Hussein.

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Associated Press writers Kareem Chehayeb and Abby Sewell in Beirut and Andrew Wilks in Istanbul contributed to this report.