The United States has provided Syria with a list of demands that it expects Damascus to meet for partial sanctions relief, which includes ensuring that foreigners do not hold senior governing positions.

On March 18, during a Syria donor conference in Brussels, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Levant and Syria, Natasha Franceschi, handed over the list of demands to Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani in a face-to-face meeting, according to sources.

Conditions set by the United States include Syria’s dismantling of any leftover chemical weapons and collaborating on counter-terrorism efforts, the two U.S. officials said. U.S. officials and a Washington source indicated that another request was to prevent foreign fighters from holding senior positions within Syria’s governing structure.

Syria has appointed several foreign ex-rebels to its defense ministry, including Uyghurs, a Jordanian, and a Turk, which has raised concerns abroad governments. Washington requested that Syria designate a liaison to help U.S. efforts to locate Austin Tice, the American journalist who disappeared in Syria more than ten years ago sources.

In exchange for meeting all the demands, Washington would offer some relief from sanctions. One specific measure could involve extending an existing exemption for transactions with Syrian governing institutions for two years, as well as potentially issuing another exemption. The U.S. will issue a statement backing Syria’s territorial integrity.

Syria urgently needs sanctions relief to rejuvenate an economy devastated by almost 14 years of conflict war, while the United States, the U.K., and Europe imposed strict sanctions on individuals, companies, and entire sectors of Syria’s economy to pressure the now-ousted leader, Bashar al-Assad.

Certain sanctions have been temporarily lifted, but their impact is minimal. In January, the U.S. granted a six-month general license to facilitate humanitarian aid; however, this action was deemed insufficient for Qatar to disburse public sector salaries via Syria’s central bank.

Syrian leaders, including Shibani and interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa, have requested the complete removal of sanctions, arguing that it is unfair to maintain them after Assad was overthrown by a rapid rebel assault in December.

U.S. Policy on Syria: Ongoing Progress

The demands’ delivery marks the clearest indication of the Trump administration’s Syria policy. U.S. remarks have emphasized backing for minorities and denouncing Islamist extremism, yet they have also expressed other viewpoints little, creating ambiguity regarding the future of sanctions and the potential ongoing deployment of U.S. forces in the northeast.

This is partly because of varying perspectives in Washington about handling Syria. Certain White House officials have shown a preference for a more hardline approach stance, citing the new Syrian leadership’s past connections to Al-Qaeda as justification for limited engagement, according to diplomats and U.S. officials knowledgeable about the policymaking process.

The State Department is pursuing a more nuanced strategy regarding Syria, exploring potential areas for engagement, according to the sources.

Earlier this month, differences prompted a tense discussion between the White House and the State Department regarding U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s condemnation of violence in the western region Syria, where armed loyalists of the former regime ambushed new security forces, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of civilians from the Alawite minority, which is Assad’s sect.

Rubio denounced “radical Islamist terrorists, such as foreign jihadis,” responsible for the violence and urged Syria’s interim authorities to bring the offenders to justice accountable. Sources familiar with the process said the White House sought a statement with a harsher tone, while the State Department sought more balance, they said.