Syria's new rulers face likely aid drop at EU conference

By Amina Ismail

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The interim government in Damascus will take part on Monday in a conference to gather aid pledges for Syria, facing the prospect of diminishing assistance as it struggles with humanitarian and security problems after the fall of Bashar al-Assad.

The annual conference has been hosted by the EU since 2017 - but took place without the government of Assad, who was shunned for his brutal actions in a civil war that began in 2011.

This year, however, the pledges at the Brussels gathering are expected to be lower than in previous years.

After Assad's overthrow in December, European Union officials hope to use the conference as a fresh start, despite concerns about deadly violence this month that pitted the new, Islamist rulers against Assad loyalists.

"This is a time of dire needs and challenges for Syria, as tragically evidenced by the recent wave of violence in coastal areas," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said.

But she said it was also "a time of hope", citing an agreement struck on March 10 to integrate the Kurdish-led and U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, which control much of Syria's northeast, into new state institutions.

    The total number of pledges is expected to be less than in previous years due to the United States' cuts to humanitarian and development aid, European Commissioner Hadja Lahbib said on Monday ahead of the conference.

“The EU is committed to supporting the Syrian people and is ready to participate in Syria’s recovery, but we can’t fill the gap left by others,” Lahbib said.

U.N. Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pederson said that while this month’s violence along the coast of Syria may have influenced donor countries' pledges, other global conflicts and the reduction in U.S. aid have had the most impact.

“What is happening inside Syria … does have an impact, but let's be honest, even without these events, the funding would have been less than in previous years,” Pederson told Reuters on Monday.

"And why is that? Of course, because Syria is, you know, in quotation marks, competing with other areas (conflicts),” he said, referring to wars including in Sudan, Gaza and Ukraine.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the group that toppled Assad, is designated as a terrorist organisation by the United Nations. But EU officials want to engage with the new rulers as long as they stick to pledges to make the transition inclusive and peaceful.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani is expected to take part in the event, along with dozens of European and Arab ministers and representatives of international organisations.

Last year's conference yielded pledges of 7.5 billion euros ($8.1 billion) in grants and loans, with the EU pledging 2.12 billion for 2024 and 2025.

About 16.5 million people in Syria require humanitarian aid, with 12.9 million people needing food aid, according to the EU.

The destruction from the war has been compounded by an economic crisis that has sent the Syrian pound tumbling and pushed almost the entire population below the poverty line.

“While the needs are increasing, the support is decreasing. And this is, of course, tragic, because we know that the next few months will be critical,” Pederson said.

 ($1 = 0.9192 euros)

(Editing by Andrew Gray and Kevin Liffey, Editing by William Maclean)