US sanctions hold up Qatari support for Syria: Sources tell Reuters

Qatar is holding off providing Syria's new rulers with funds to increase public sector pay due to uncertainty over whether the transfers would breach U.S. sanctions, four sources said, a setback to efforts to revive the war-stricken economy.

The delay in Qatar's plan to help pay for the increase, which Reuters reported in January, underlines the considerable challenges Syria's new Islamist authorities face as they seek to stabilize the fractured state and assure foreign powers about their leadership.

While the previous U.S. administration issued a sanctions exemption on January 6 to allow transactions with Syria's governing institutions for six months, Qatar does not see this as enough to cover payments it would need to make via the central bank to finance the salary increase, the sources said.

Three of the sources said Qatar, a wealthy U.S. ally with long-standing ties to groups that helped topple former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in December, is waiting for clarity over U.S. President Donald Trump's policy towards Damascus.



Reuters