Foreign ministers and top diplomats from Western countries and other Middle Eastern countries are gathering in the Saudi capital to discuss the future of Syria.

The meeting comes after Syria’s new administration, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), called for the lifting of Western sanctions to help international funds flow to Damascus.
Syria’s new Foreign Minister Assad Hassan al-Shaibani has also arrived in Riyadh, Saudi state news agency SPA reported.

Al Jazeera reported that the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey will discuss regional positions at the meeting. US Undersecretary of State John Bass, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy will also attend.
Analyst Rob Gist Pinfold said the Biden administration and European countries are moving in the direction they want HTS to go in terms of lifting sanctions or at least easing them. The US has said it will suspend payments to public sector workers, such as energy supply, Pinfold, a lecturer at King’s College London, told Al Jazeera.