Syria FM says scrapping sanctions ‘key’ to country’s economic stability

Syria’s top diplomat said Wednesday that lifting economic sanctions imposed during the rule of ousted president Bashar al-Assad was “key” to stability in the country. Syria’s new authorities are lobbying Western powers to remove sanctions that had targeted Assad’s government over his brutal crackdown on anti-government protests in 2011, which triggered the country’s civil war. Nearly 14 years of conflict have devastated Syria’s infrastructure and economy.