Sawt Falasteen - Donors pledge 5.8 bn euros for Syria, down on last year

Western and regional powers are desperate to steer Syria onto the road to stability after 14 years of civil war that have sent millions of refugees over its borders.

For the first time, the Syrian authorities were represented at the annual aid conference in Brussels -- with interim foreign minister Assaad al-Shibani attending.

But an outbreak of deadly violence this month -- the worst since Assad was toppled in December -- has rocked confidence in the new Islamist-led authorities.

Overall the EU said international donors pledged 5.8 billion euros ($6.3 billion), consisting of 4.2 billion euros in grants and 1.6 billion in loans.

That was down on the 7.5 billion promised overall at the conference last year.

The drop came despite European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen saying Brussels was stepping up its commitment for this year and next to almost 2.5 billion euros ($2.7 billion) to help those in Syria and neighbouring countries.

"Syrians need greater support, whether they are still abroad, or they decide to go home," she told the Brussels conference.

The vow from Brussels came on top of significant contributions from individual countries, including some $330 million from Germany and $210 million from Britain.

But US President Donald Trump's slashing of Washington's aid budget appeared to have an impact.

US representative Natasha Franceschi did not specify whether the US was promising any funds, but insisted other countries needed to do more.

"During the last 14 years, the United States has provided more assistance for the Syrian people than any other nation, more than $18.3 billion," Franceschi said.

"We will continue to provide certain assistance in line with US policies and laws, but we also now expect that other nations are going to help shoulder the financial burden the United States has long carried."

- Syria urges sanction relief -

Syria's new rulers -- headed by former Islamist rebel commander Ahmed al-Sharaa -- have been clamouring for assistance to help the country's recovery.

The EU has eased sanctions on key sectors of the economy, but along with other powers it insists the authorities must make good on promises for an inclusive transition.

"We do appreciate the major measures taken by the European Union, such as the lifting or suspending of the sanctions," Shibani said.

"However, these measures did not live up so far to our expectations. We want further measures in order to help us secure our recovery."

There have been positive moves from Damascus, including Sharaa signing a constitutional declaration laying out a five-year transitional period, with rights for women and freedom of expression.

But hopes were shaken by the violence on Syria's Mediterranean coast, which a war monitor said saw security forces kill nearly 1,500 civilians, most of them members of the Alawite minority to which the Assad family belongs.

Shibani insisted that the new authorities would bring to justice "anyone who perpetrated any crime, whose hands are stained with blood".

"We believe in the true sense of citizenship, the citizenship of every single citizen of Syria, regardless of their ethnicity or religion," he said.

The EU has held its annual donor drive for Syria for the past eight years but it mainly focused on supporting refugees in neighbouring countries and avoided any contacts with the Assad regime.

Syria's needs are massive as swathes of the country lie in ruins and the economy has been ravaged by years of international isolation after Assad's 2011 crackdown on opposition sparked the civil war.

The country still faces a dire humanitarian situation, with an estimated 16.7 million people in need of assistance.

"It would be a mistake to disinvest from Syria now," said Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

"Humanitarian aid remains a lifeline that millions of Syrians depend on. Severing it now would only deepen their suffering and prolong the country's recovery," she said.

The United Nations says that, at current growth rates, Syria would need more than 50 years to get back to its economic level before the outbreak of the war.

T.Ibrahim--SF-PST