Syria has reportedly committed to the United States to drastically reduce its Russian oil imports, as part of talks with Washington over lifting the last major terrorism sanction designation (SST) still in place on Damascus since 1979.Reuters reported the development on Tuesday, Aug. 4, citing three anonymous sources, including a Syrian source with direct knowledge of the talks, a US official, and one additional source briefed on the matter.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.“Today, Syria relies on Russian oil out of necessity, not preference,” the Syrian source said, adding that “Syrian officials often respond [to the US] by saying: ‘Lift the SST designation and we’ll buy oil from somewhere else.”“We simply don’t have alternatives right now,” they continued.Moscow – Syria’s main crude supplierRussian oil deliveries to Syria rose about 75% this year, to about 60,000 barrels per day, making Moscow Syria’s main supplier of crude, even as Damascus continues to pursue closer ties with the West.Navvar Saban, a Syrian analyst at the Arab Center for Contemporary Studies, said replacing that volume will take time.It “cannot happen overnight without risking fuel shortages or higher import costs for Syria,” Saban said, adding that Washington is “increasingly targeting the economic network that allows Russia to preserve influence after losing political ground in Syria.”Russia reportedly increased its oil deliveries to Syria in an aim to maintain its influence following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.