UK resets ties with Syria as foreign minister visits Damascus

“There is renewed hope for the Syrian people,” Lammy said in a statement. “It is in our interests to support the new government to deliver their commitment to build a stable, more secure and prosperous future for all Syrians.”

The West has been slowly resetting its approach to Syria since insurgent forces led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham ousted Bashar al-Assad as president in December following more than 13 years of war.

Lammy’s visit, the first by a British minister in 14 years, comes days after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order terminating a U.S. sanctions program on Syria, ending its isolation from the international financial system and helping it rebuild after the war.

Britain also eased its sanctions in April, unfreezing the assets of Syria’s central bank and 23 other entities, including banks and oil companies to encourage investments, though it kept in place those targeting members of the former regime.

The financial support package announced on Saturday will provide urgent humanitarian aid to Syria and support the country’s longer-term recovery through developing areas such as education, the government statement said.