European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Wednesday she hopes a political agreement on easing Syria sanctions can be reached at a gathering of European ministers next week. EU foreign ministers will discuss the situation in Syria during a meeting in Brussels on Jan.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas hopes for a political agreement on easing Syria sanctions. The discussion among European ministers comes as Assad is ousted, with some capitals ready to suspend sanctions to support the transition.

The European Union is contemplating a phased suspension of certain economic sanctions on Syria to facilitate the country's transition while maintaining leverage. This initiative follows the disruption of Bashar al-Assad's regime.

EU crisis management chief Hadja Lahbib on Friday became the first European Union official to visit Syria since Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad last month.

RIYADH (Reuters) -European foreign ministers will meet at the end of January to discuss the lifting of sanctions on Syria, the EU foreign policy chief said on Sunday in Riyadh ahead of a meeting of top Middle Eastern and Western diplomats and Syria's new foreign minister.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Friday that he had called for a moratorium on EU sanctions on Syria for six months or one year, but that a final decision could only come from the entire bloc.

Top diplomats from the Middle East and Europe were arriving in the Saudi capital on Sunday to discuss Syria, as world powers push for stability after the fall of Bashar al-Assad.Saudi Arabia, the Middle East's biggest economy,

EU crisis management chief Hadja Lahbib announced a 235 million euro aid package for Syria and neighbouring countries on Friday during a visit to Damascus.

Analysts say the return suggests that Moscow is preparing to evacuate one of its most valuable overseas bases.

The extension of EU sanctions shouldn't be automatic, the Hungarian government has said, in remarks that threaten to unravel the bloc's collective reaction to Russia's war on Ukraine #EuropeNews

President Donald Trump is a fortunate man with the resolve to create his own luck. As he reenters the Oval Office, he finds a world in flux, with American adversaries more weakened than during his first term.

Syria's top diplomat said Wednesday that lifting economic sanctions imposed during the rule of ousted president Bashar al-Assad was "key" to restoring stability in the war-torn country.For weeks, Syria's new authorities have been lobbying Western powers to scrap restrictions that had targeted Assad's administration over his brutal 2011 crackdown on anti-government protests,