Syria tells US it is willing to drastically drop Russian oil imports, sources say
BEIRUT/WASHINGTON: Damascus has agreed to drastically reduce imports of Russian oil as part of its ongoing discussions with the United States on lifting the last major sanctions designation on Syria, three sources familiar with the conversations told Reuters.
Such a reduction would represent a major shift in energy policy in Syria, which has become heavily reliant on Russian oil despite a political pivot to the West.
It would also be a new way for the US to exert pressure on Russia’s economic sway in the country, experts say.
In recent months, senior Syrian officials have told the US they are willing to reduce Russian oil imports as they discussed Washington removing Syria from a decades-old list of state sponsors of terrorism, according to a Syrian source with direct knowledge of the conversations, a US official and another source briefed on the matter.
