Discussions to possibly lift EU sanctions against Syria are under way but are unlikely to resolve soon, Germany's special envoy to Syria, Stefan Schneck, has told The National. The request to lift sanctions was made publicly this week by Syria's de facto new leader,

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Friday said Syria's future is "hanging by a thread" as she called on Turkey to help stabilize the country during a visit to Ankara. "Syria must neither become a pawn of foreign powers nor an experiment by radical forces,