Captagon

While Damascus’ rapprochement with the Arab World is accelerating, the United States and members of the European Union, among which France features prominently, still claim that their policy on Syria is unchanged. However, a growing number of French analysts have reported that powerful economic lobbies are pushing the French presidential palace to restore ties with the regime in the hope that France will reap economic benefits. The recent visit by a board member of the Damascus Chamber of Commerce to Paris only lends credence to these claims.

On May 11, a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the United States House of Representatives introduced the Assad Anti-Normalisation Act, sending a clear message of disapproval to Arab countries that have re-engaged the Syrian regime.

Although Jordan is at the forefront of rapprochement efforts with the regime, its air force allegedly launched two airstrikes over southern Syrian territory, killing an infamous drug lord and destroying a drug factory. The strikes came less than a week after Damascus agreed to tackle drug trafficking on its border with Jordan and Iraq and days after Amman seized its largest captagon shipment of the year.

The E.U. Council recently blacklisted 33 regime-affiliated individuals and entities, including regime financiers, narcotics dealers, and an NGO allegedly run by Asma Al-Assad.

Recent weeks have seen an acceleration in the restoration of political and diplomatic ties between Syria and the Arab world. These moves have included visits of Bashar Al-Assad to the UAE and Oman the following day, a visit to Cairo by Syrian FM Faysal Meqdad, and reports that Saudi Arabia and Syria would soon reopen their consulates in their respective capitals.

The U.S. and the U.K. together added to their sanctions programmes 11 Syrian individuals involved in drug production and trafficking. The Caesar Act was used for the first time in years.