Rubio pointed out that the transitional authorities of Syria are facing huge challenges, and although their members have a “difficult past” in Islamist armed formations, taking the risk of abolishing restrictions was necessary. “If we do not get involved there, we will definitely fail. In our opinion, to be honest, the transitional authorities are – taking into account the challenges they face – maybe a few weeks, not many months, from a potential fall and a full -scale civil war of epic size, basically: from the breakup of the country” – he said.
According to Rubio, the temporary abolition of sanctions will allow Syria neighbors to support the construction of state institutions and the army. He added, however, that the permanent removal of restrictions requires the setting of the sanction act by the Congress, without which Syria will not be able to attract foreign investments needed for reconstruction.
Rubio about the Syrian identity
Rubio also emphasized that “good news is that there is a Syrian national identity”, indicating that Syria was a place where “Alawici, Druz, Christians, Sunni and Szycici (…), and Kurds lived next to each other under the banner of Syrian identity, until she was broken by a butcher's Bashara) al-Assad, who conflicted them with each other. “
The new Syrian authorities, derived from Sunni Islamist groups, under the leadership of President Ahmed Al-Szara, declare their willingness to create a government involving all social groups. Despite this, the country is still struggling with violence from distributed armed formations. In March, Sunnic fighters murdered hundreds of Alawites, and in April in clashes between Sunniths and Druzian militias in the Damascus region, over 100 people were killed.
