European foreign ministers agreed on a “road map” to lift financial restrictions, but the change will happen in stages.

European Union foreign ministers have agreed to begin lifting sanctions on Syria, but insist that the measures should be reimposed if they see any abuses by the country’s new rulers.

European Union foreign ministers have agreed on a roadmap to ease sanctions on Syria, the bloc's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Monday.

A six-phase “road map” prepared by the EU’s foreign service advocates a “staged approach” to lifting sanctions on the country “to incentivise peaceful transition and reconstruction”. An arms embargo, sanctions on equipment used for internal repression and measures targeting Assad regime officials would be exempt, the document states.

Syria has been subject to sweeping EU sanctions following the outbreak of civil war in 2011, which targeted both individuals and economic sectors. Measures included a ban on Syrian oil exports and restrictions on access to global financial channels.

The European Union may soon suspend sanctions on Syria related to energy and transport but has yet to agree on whether to ease restrictions on financial transactions, according to three diplomats and a document seen by Reuters.

France is lifting some sanctions against Syria, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot told reporters on Monday as top diplomats from the European Union met in Brussels to discuss a coordinated

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said she expected the bloc to agree Monday to begin easing sanctions on Syria after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad.

While we aim to move fast, the lifting of sanctions can be reversed if wrong steps are taken,' says EU foreign policy chief Kallas - Anadolu Ajansı

EU foreign ministers were discussing the matter at a meeting in Brussels on Monday with the bloc's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas having told Reuters that she was hopeful an agreement on easing the sanctions could be reached.

EU foreign ministers on Monday agreed to begin easing sanctions on Syria after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad, as the West looks to build bridges with the war-ravaged country's new leadership. "This could give a boost to the Syrian economy and help the country get back on its feet,