A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers on Thursday introduced a bill aimed at preventing the U.S. government from recognizing Bashar al-Assad as Syria’s president and easing the process of imposing sanctions on Damascus. This should serve as a warning to other countries normalizing their relations with Assad.
The bill bars the U.S. government from recognizing or normalizing relations with the Assad-led Syrian government, which is under U.S. sanctions, and expands on a 2020 law that called for tough sanctions on Syria.
The proposed bill comes after Arab states ended a years-long standoff with Assad on Sunday, allowing Syria to return to the Arab League.
Countries in the region, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, have backed anti-Assad rebels for years, but the Syrian army, backed by Iran, Russia and pro-regime militias, has taken over a large part of the country. Cold relations between the regional powers with Assad began to heat up after the devastating earthquakes in Syria and Turkey in February.
“Countries that choose to normalize their relationship with unrepentant mass murderer and drug trafficker Bashar al-Assad are on the wrong track,” said Congressman Joe Wilson, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia, in a statement.
The bill was introduced in the lower house of Congress by Republicans Joe Wilson, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCall and French Hill, and Democrat Brendan Boyle and other members of Congress.
The law will be a warning to Turkey and Arab countries that if they interact with the Assad government, they could face serious consequences, a senior congressional official who worked on the bill told Reuters.
“Syria’s return to the Arab League really angered members (of Congress) and made it clear the need for quick action to send the signal,” the source said. He added that when drafting the bill, its creators consulted with the State Department.
State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel declined to comment on the bill, noting that Washington had made clear it was not seeking to normalize relations with the Assad administration and would not support its allies and other partners in such actions.
Provisions of the bill include requiring the Secretary of State to provide Congress with a strategy to counter the normalization of relations with the Assad government, including providing a list of diplomatic meetings between Syrian authorities and Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Egypt and other countries every year for five years.
The legislation will also pave the way for airport sanctions that allow landings by Syrian Arab Airlines and another Syrian carrier, Cham Wings, the source said.
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