Syrian president appoints former communications minister to form new government

On September 14, 2024, news from Beirut. According to Syrian state media reports, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad issued a decree appointing former communications minister Muhammad Ghazi Jalali to lead a new government after the parliamentary elections in July.

Jalali, 55, has been under EU sanctions since October 2014 due to the government's repression during the Syrian conflict. Since 2011, the Syrian conflict has killed nearly 500,000 people. The EU says that as a government minister, he is collectively responsible for the regime's violent repression of civilians. Jalali has served as communications minister since August 2014 for nearly two years.

Since the parliamentary elections in mid-July, Syria's outgoing government has been in a caretaker status. The timing for the formation of the new cabinet is currently unclear. The EU first imposed sanctions on Syria in 2011, including measures such as banning oil imports, restricting investment, freezing the assets of the Central Bank of Syria and imposing export restrictions on specific equipment and technologies.