Foreign ministers and top diplomats from Western and Middle Eastern countries are meeting Syria's new foreign minister in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Sunday at the first such regional meeting on Syria since President Bashar al-Assad was ousted last month.

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 European and Middle Eastern diplomats gathered in Riyadh for a conference focused on Syria's future on Sunday. Germany’s foreign minister said that 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.

The country's new rulers have been pushing for sanctions relief since overthrowing Bashar al-Assad's government last month

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said that Syrians needed "quick" relief and pledged additional aid. Syrian interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa is urging Western states to ease sanctions on the country.

The new administration’s first visit to Ankara comes amid an intensifying struggle for the partition of Syria between the states behind the overthrow of the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad by jihadists led by the al-Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

ALBAWABA - Saudi Arabia started a ministerial meeting on Syria on Sunday in the capital Riyadh amid regional and international pledges to help Syria ris

The EU foreign policy chief, said the foreign ministers would convene in Brussels on 27 January, in an effort to decide how the 27-nation bloc would relax sanctions on Syria.

STORY: Foreign ministers and top diplomats from Western and Middle Eastern countries met with Syria's new foreign minister on Sunday.Held in the Saudi capital Riyadh, it was the first such regional gathering on Syria since President Bashar al-Assad was ousted last month.

Top Western and Middle East diplomats and ministers met to discuss sanctions relief for Syria after al-Assad’s removal.

Riyadh hosted on Sunday a meeting bringing together foreign ministers from Arab and Western countries, as well as representatives of international and UN organizations, to discuss the situation in Syria following the fall of the Assad regime last month.

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.