EU foreign ministers have agreed to lift economic sanctions on Syria, the bloc's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said.
"We want to help the Syrian people rebuild a new, inclusive and peaceful Syria," Ms Kallas said in a post on social media platform X following discussions with ministers in Brussels.
The European Union's policy shift comes after US President Donald Trump said last week he would order the lifting of US sanctions on Syria.
"The EU has always stood by Syrians throughout the last 14 years - and will keep doing so," Ms Kallas said.
The bloc has already eased sanctions related to energy, transport and reconstruction, as well as associated financial transactions, but some capitals have argued that the measures were insufficient to help support Syria's political transition and economic recovery
Syria's Foreign Minister Assadal-Shibani has thanked the EU for lifting sanctions.
Mr Shibani said in a post on X that the EU decision would bolster Syria's security and stability.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has warned that Syria could be weeks away from a fresh civil war of "epic proportions," as he called for support to the transitional leadership.
"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," Mr 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.
Mr 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.
Mr Sharaa, clad in a suit and complimented by Mr Trump as a "young, attractive guy," was until recently on a US wanted list over jihadist connections.
Mr 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."
Mr 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," Mr Rubio said.
Way to boost investment
The US had previously insisted on key steps from Syria's transitional authorities, including protection of minorities.
Mr 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.
Mr 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," Mr Rubio said.
Mr Rubio has said that Mr 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.
EU countries, which had already suspended measures, gave the green light 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 has hailed the lifting of sanctions by the US 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."
