ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Saudi Arabia on Sunday called on the international community to lift biting sanctions on Syria following a meeting with top regional and international diplomats that focused on the future of the war-torn country. 

"We stressed the importance of lifting unilateral and international sanctions imposed on Syria, as their continuation hinders the aspirations of the Syrian people to achieve development and reconstruction," Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said in a press conference following the conclusion of Sunday’s meeting.

Foreign ministers from several countries including Iraq and Turkey, along with UN and EU officials, attended the meeting on Sunday in Riyadh, discussing the latest developments and transition in Syria.

The Assad family’s over five-decade rule in Syria came to an end in early December following a lightning offensive that lasted less than two weeks, spearheaded by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, led by the current de facto ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa. 

The new administration in Damascus has repeatedly called on the international community, notably the US, to lift sanctions on the country to allow millions of Syrians to return home, and for the country's economy to recover.

The US Treasury Department said last Monday it would ponder lifting some of the sanctions on essential services such as energy and sanitation.

The key sanctions include; infrastructure investments, arms and military equipment, travel, and financial flows for individuals associated with the previous Syrian government.

Vice-President of the European Commission, Kaja Kallas, said on Friday that the EU could begin lifting sanctions if Syria's new rulers took steps to form an inclusive government that protected minorities, adding the EU foreign ministers will discuss the matter at hand on January 27.

Possible priorities for relief include "those sanctions that are hindering the building up of a country, access to banking services and all these things", Kallas told reporters in Riyadh, adding if they “see the developments going in the right direction, we are ready to do the next steps.”

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told reporters in Riyadh that Berlin would provide another 50 million euros "for food, emergency shelter, and medical care."