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. "While we aim to move fast, the lifting of sanctions can be reversed if wrong steps are taken,

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.

Some European Union sanctions against Syria are being lifted, France's foreign minister said on Monday, as part of a broader EU move to help stabilise Damascus after the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad in December.

The EU foreign ministers have agreed on a roadmap to lift sanctions on Syria, contingent on the new leadership's commitment to peace and inclusion.

The European Union is considering a step-by-step suspension of multiple economic sanctions targeting Syria as it seeks to support the country’s transition, while retaining some leverage, according to two internal documents seen by Reuters.

The European Union is considering easing sanctions on Syria to assist the new government in rebuilding the country following the fall of Bashar al-Assad, a senior EU official stated on Monday.