Timour Azhari and Andrew Mills
DAMASCUS/DOHA (Reuters) – Qatar plans to help fund a huge public sector wage increase promised by Syria’s new government, a U.S. official and senior diplomat said, a vital aid to Damascus’ new Islamist rulers a month after they toppled Bashar al- Asad.
Support for the new Syrian administration was made possible by a US sanctions waiver issued by Washington on Monday, allowing transactions with Syria’s ruling institutions for six months.
The Arab official said talks on funding the Syrian government’s salaries from Qatar were ongoing and nothing had been finalized, adding that other countries, including Saudi Arabia, could join the effort.
A Saudi official told Reuters on Tuesday that the kingdom was committed to working with regional and international partners to help Syria and that its current support was “focused on humanitarian aid, including food, shelter and medical supplies.”
Qatar, a longtime backer of Syria’s armed uprising against Assad, has lobbied Washington hard to issue a sanctions waiver so it can secure funding through official channels, a US official and diplomat said.
Syrian rebels led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham seized power from Assad on December 8 in a lightning offensive and have since installed an interim government that has promised a 400% wage increase for public sector workers.
The total monthly wage bill including the increase is about $120 million, with more than 1.25 million workers on the public sector payroll, the new finance minister said.
A Syrian finance ministry source said they had no confirmation of foreign funding for salaries, but there were general promises of support.
Qatar’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
HTS was designated a terrorist organization by Washington a few years ago, but has long since cut ties with the Islamist militant group Al Qaeda and has signaled a more moderate approach in recent years.
The rebel-turned-rulers have vowed to begin an inclusive political process in Syria bringing together all its ethnic and religious components and have made efforts to reach out to other Gulf Arab states wary of their history.
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani visited Riyadh on his first official trip abroad last week, and has since stopped in the UAE, Qatar and Jordan.
Arab states, European powers and the US have been working with Syria’s new rulers in an effort to give them a chance to stabilize the country and start an inclusive political process, diplomats said.
Qatar, a small but wealthy Gulf state that plays a huge role in international diplomacy, moved quickly to forge ties with the new Syrian government last month, sending senior officials to Damascus and reopening its embassy. On Tuesday, Qatar Airways resumed regular flights between Doha and Damascus.
Doha cut official ties with Assad’s government in 2011 and has rejected efforts by several Arab countries to mend relations with Damascus in recent years.
The White House National Security Council did not immediately respond to questions about whether the US had been informed of the Qatari support talks and whether such an arrangement would meet the terms of a six-month exemption from US sanctions announced on Monday.
