Syria reboots interior ministry as Damascus seeks to reassure West

Syrian authorities on Saturday announced an interior ministry restructuring that includes fighting cross-border drug and people smuggling as they seek to improve ties with Western nations that have lifted sanctions.

Keen to reboot and rebuild nearly 14 years after a devastating civil war broke out, the new authorities in Damascus have hailed Washington's lifting of US sanctions.

The move was formalised Friday after being announced by President Donald Trump on a Gulf tour this month during which he shook hands with Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Spokesman Noureddine al-Baba said the interior ministry restructure included reforms and creating "a modern civil security institution that adopts transparency and respects international human rights standards".

It includes setting up a citizens' complaints department and incorporating the police and General Security agency into an Internal Security command, he told a press conference.

A border security body for Syria's land and sea frontiers will be tasked with "combating illegal activities, particularly drug and human smuggling networks", Baba said.

The restructure includes "strengthening the role of the anti-drug department and further developing its importance within Syria and abroad" after the country became a major exporter of illicit stimulant captagon, he added.

Another department will handle security for government facilities and foreign missions, as embassies reopen in Syria following Bashar al-Assad's ouster in December.

A tourism police body will secure visitors and sites as the war-torn country -- home to renowned UNESCO World Heritage sites -- seeks to relaunch tourism.

'Of critical importance'

Syria's foreign ministry welcomed Washington's lifting of sanctions, calling the move "a positive step in the right direction to reduce humanitarian and economic struggles in the country".

Turkish foreign ministry spokesperson Oncu Keceli said the recent US and European Union steps to lift sanctions were "of critical importance in efforts to bring stability and security to Syria".

The European Union announced the lifting of its economic sanctions on Syria earlier this month.

Sharaa met President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday on his third visit to Turkey since taking power on a visit to discuss "common issues", Syria's presidency said.

Ankara is a major backer of Syria's new authorities, who are negotiating with Kurdish forces that control swathes of the northeast and that Turkey considers "terrorists".

A government delegation made a first visit Saturday to the notorious Al-Hol camp in the northeast that hosts families of suspected Islamic State (IS) group militants.

Trump said he wanted to give Syria's new rulers "a chance at greatness" after their overthrow of Assad.

While in Istanbul, Sharaa met with the US ambassador to Turkey, who doubles as Washington's Syria envoy.

In a statement, Tom Barrack said: "President Trump's goal is to enable the new government to create the conditions for the Syrian people to not only survive but thrive."

He added that it would aid Washington's "primary objective" of ensuring the "enduring defeat" of IS.

US sanctions were first imposed on Syria in 1979 under the rule of Bashar al-Assad's father Hafez.

They were sharply expanded after the bloody repression of anti-government protests in 2011 triggered Syria's civil war.

The new administration has been looking to build relations with the West and roll back sanctions, but some governments expressed reluctance, pointing to the Islamist past of leading figures.