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Biden administration to announce sanctions waivers for Syrian Kurds, Sunni opposition-held areas

Sanctions exemptions are aimed at expediting humanitarian aid and diminishing the economic damage in certain areas.
A picture taken July 9, 2017, shows workers at Syria's Arak gas field.

The Biden administration is expected to announce this week that Kurdish and opposition-controlled areas in Syria are to be exempt from sanctions against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, according to several sources familiar with the decision speaking not for attribution to Al-Monitor.

The exemptions from the Caesar Syrian Civilian Protection Act will be formally relayed by Ethan Goodrich, the deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs who covers the Syria dossier, the sources said. The Office of Foreign Assets Control waiver on all sanctions for the areas outside the Syrian regime’s control will not cover oil and gas, the sources added.

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