Zürcher Nachrichten - Rubio says Syria could be weeks away from 'full-scale civil war'

"It is our assessment that, frankly, the transitional authority, given the challenges they're facing, are maybe weeks -- not many months -- away from potential collapse and a full-scale civil war of epic proportions, basically the country splitting up," Rubio told a US Senate hearing.

The top US diplomat spoke after a series of bloody attacks on the Alawite and Druze minorities in Syria, where Islamist-led fighters in December toppled Bashar al-Assad in a lightning offensive after a brutal civil war that began in 2011.

US President Donald Trump last week on a visit to Saudi Arabia announced a lifting of Assad-era sanctions and met with the guerrilla leader who is now Syria's transitional president, Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Sharaa, clad in a suit and complimented by Trump as a "young, attractive guy," was until recently on a US wanted list over jihadist connections.

Rubio quipped: "The transitional authority figures, they didn't pass their background check with the FBI."

But he added: "If we engage them, it may work out, it may not work out. If we did not engage them, it was guaranteed to not work out."

Rubio, who also met with Syria's foreign minister in Turkey on Thursday, blamed the renewed violence on the legacy of Assad, a largely secular leader who hailed from the Alawite sect.

"They are dealing with deep internal distrust in that country, because Assad deliberately pitted these groups against each other," Rubio said.

- Way to boost investment -

The United States had previously insisted on key steps from Syria's transitional authorities, including protection of minorities.

Trump's move on Syria was encouraged by Turkey -- the main patron of the Islamist fighters who had battled Assad, an ally of Iran and Russia -- and Sunni regional power Saudi Arabia.

Rubio said that the main reason to lift the sanctions was to let other countries bring in assistance.

"The nations in the region want to get aid in, want to start helping them, and they can't because they're afraid of our sanctions," Rubio said.

Rubio has said that Trump plans to waive the Caesar Act which imposed sanctions for investment on Syria in an effort to ensure accountability over abuses under Assad.

He told lawmakers that they may eventually need to rescind the law, as temporary waivers would not be enough for investors.

European Union countries, which had already suspended measures, gave the green light on Tuesday to lift all economic sanctions on Syria.

EU diplomats said that sanctions would be lifted that cut Syrian banks off from the global system and freeze central bank assets, although sanctions would remain on individuals over stirring ethnic tensions.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani on Tuesday hailed the lifting of sanctions by the United States and other powers as offering Syrians "a very important and historic opportunity to rebuild their country."

"Anyone who wants to invest in Syria, the doors are open; anyone who wants to cooperate with Syria, there are no sanctions," he told a joint news conference in Damascus with his visiting Jordanian counterpart.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said that Syria was now "in a new phase, and Syria's success requires giving it a chance to succeed."

Y.Keller--NZN