Editorial: Le Monde

• More than a month after the overthrow of the Al-Assad dictatorship, the new Syrian authorities are trying to defy the fate of failed transitions common in the Middle East.
• The complex community equation in Syria, exacerbated by the economic and social decay inherited from the fallen regime, requires indispensable international support.
• The European Union has begun to promote a gradual lifting of sanctions adopted during the Syrian civil war, this being a first step worthy of recognition.
• This relief of sanctions is conditional and will be reintroduced if the new authorities do not fulfil commitments to good governance, respect for minorities and human rights.
• The main force in Damascus, Hayat Tahrir Al-Cham, still figures in the lists of western terrorist organizations, adding another difficulty.

Conclusion: It is urgent that the new authorities improve the lives of Syrians. If they fail, it ruins regional stability and does not facilitate the return of millions of Syrian expatriates.

---