WASHINGTON– The U.S. State Department said Friday that a Qatari initiative to fund civil servant salaries in Syria does not indicate any change in Washington’s longstanding position toward the Syrian government.
Speaking at a press briefing, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce clarified that the initiative falls under a pre-existing humanitarian exemption, allowing aid intended to stabilize Syria to bypass sanctions without requiring new approval.
Bruce further stated that the United States has a longstanding waiver mechanism in place to facilitate aid that contributes to Syria’s stability. “That waiver dynamic is what has allowed Qatar to provide assistance for salaries of certain workers, so that they would not have needed a new approval, they would not have needed a new waiver.” She added.
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She emphasized that any assistance provided through this mechanism must be clearly directed toward promoting stabilization and must not benefit sanctioned entities.
The remarks come after Reuters reported that Qatar had agreed to provide $29 million per month for three months, with the possibility of renewal, to help cover public-sector salaries in Syria. According to U.S. and financial sources, the aid targets civilian employees only, explicitly excluding workers from the Syrian ministries of Defense and interior.
This does not reflect a shift in U.S policy as Bruce confirmed during the press conference. The situation in Syria “is under constant monitoring, constant work, and we take every dynamic seriously,” she said.
Bruce also criticized a recent appointment by Damascus, saying the naming of Ahmad al-Hayes, a military figure with an alleged history of human rights abuses, as a regional commander in northeastern Syria is a “serious mistake that the U.S. doesn’t support.”
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A Syrian financial source told Reuters that the funds are conditional and will only be disbursed if they are strictly limited to civilian salaries.
