The delegation of the Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC) held an important meeting with the Office of Foreign Assets Control at the US Treasury Department in Washington to discuss the sanctions imposed on the Assad regime, the importance of refusing to ease the sanctions on it and its cronies, and preventing it from dodging sanctions.
The delegation comprised SOC’s Vice President and Coordinator of the Office of Foreign Relations, Abdulahad Astepho, Secretary of the Political Committee and Coordinator of the Caesar Act Team Abdel Majid Barakat, and SOC’s member Dima Moussa.
The two sides discussed the ways that the Assad regime is using to dodge US sanctions, the political, economic and social impact of sanctions, and the importance of ensuring that the sanctions target the Assad regime and its cronies, as well as the companies and entities that help the regime circumvent sanctions and feed its military machine.
The delegation presented detailed studies on the new mechanisms that the Assad regime is using to generate revenues, especially through the cultivation, production and trade of illicit drugs. The studies also listed the individuals assigned by the Assad regime to manage this business. Thee two sides also talked about the impact of this trade at the regional and international levels.
Moreover, the two sides discussed the Assad regime’s exploitation of the Ukrainian crisis and its opening of companies to recruit fighters to send them to fight alongside the Russian forces in Ukraine. They also discussed the regime’s use of these companies to smuggle money, especially to Eastern Europe.
The delegation stressed the importance of directing the sanctions at the Assad regime and not to soften these sanctions so as to prevent any attempt to normalize relations with the regime or allow it to reproduce itself or restructure its economy through which it finances its security and military machines.
(Source: SOC’s media department)
