DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said on Friday from Damascus that his country was engaged in an active dialogue with Europe and the U.S. to help lift economic sanctions imposed on Syria.

Saudi Arabia is taking part in talks with Western powers to help remove sanctions against Syria, the kingdom's Foreign Minister said on Friday as he made his first visit to Damascus since the fall of former president Bashar Al Assad.

Syria is the main source of Captagon shipments to the Gulf and the new authorities in the country have pledged to crack down on the trade.

Germany’s foreign minister says sanctions against Syrian officials responsible for war crimes must remain in place but called for a “smart approach” to provide relief to the Syrian population after last month’s overthrow of President Bashar Assad.

Top diplomats from the Middle East and Europe arrived in the Saudi capital on Sunday to discuss Syria, as world powers weigh sanctions relief and push for stability after the fall of Bashar al-Assad. Saudi Arabia, the Middle East’s biggest economy, is ...

Many countries worldwide launched relief, aid campaigns for Syria following fall of Assad regime - Anadolu Ajansı

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister on Sunday called for the lifting of sanctions on Syria after meetings with top diplomats from the Middle East and Europe. This comes just a month after Islamist-led rebels toppled strongman Bashar al-Assad.

Foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan became the most senior Saudi Arabian official to visit Beirut in more than a decade on Thursday, marking the kingdom’s attempt to rebuild relations with Lebanon after the country elected a new president.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said Saudi Arabia aimed to invest at least $600bn in the US over the next four years, as the kingdom sought to deepen ties with its most important western ally after the return of Donald Trump to the White House.

During a press conference Friday with his Syrian counterpart, bin Farhan said Saudi Arabia was standing by Syria, pointing to "the importance of accelerating the lifting and freezing of all sanctions".

Hamas has announced the names of the next four hostages it will release this weekend as part of a ceasefire deal with Israel that has halted fighting in Gaza for at least six weeks.