DAMASCUS, 4 November 2005 — Syria, self-sufficient in oil and food, can survive any economic sanctions imposed over the killing of Lebanese former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Dardari said yesterday.
The United Nations Security Council voted unanimously on Monday for a resolution ordering Syria to cooperate fully with an international investigation into Hariri’s assassination or face unspecified possible “further action”.
A clause threatening economic sanctions if Damascus fails to cooperate with the probe was dropped at the last moment to ensure a unanimous vote, but that threat could revive. Dardari, brought in to accelerate economic reforms in the socialist country, said Syria’s ample foreign reserves and small debt would give it resilience against any sanctions.
“The past years of relative isolation are proving to be somehow useful as we are self-sufficient in many areas,” Dardari told Reuters in an interview.
“In our dealings we are stronger because we are less dependent and the economy is less exposed to foreign external pressures,” said Dardari, whose country produces 450,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil and exports about 250,000 bpd.
Syria denies any role in Hariri’s murder. It says it is working with the UN inquiry and has set up its own probe. But the threat of sanctions could return once the international investigation ends on Dec. 15.
Dardari said Syria, whose annual GDP is worth $22 billion, had coped well under US sanctions imposed last year.
Syria established a committee on Monday, composed of top officials under Dardari’s chairmanship, to prepare for “all possibilities,” though he did not expect the world to impose measures that could have a heavy humanitarian impact like UN sanctions imposed on Iraq after its 1990 invasion of Kuwait.
“Are we talking about full sanctions, or partial or indirect? We still have a long way to go before that,” he said. “I cannot imagine the level of sanctions on Syria would be to the extent we cannot get spare parts for tractors.” Dardari said Syria’s diversified economy, with enough foreign currency reserves accumulated over a decade from oil export revenues and profits of state concerns, was in a good position to survive sanctions.
Government sources say hard currency reserves stand at $18 billion, enough to cover 29 months’ worth of imports. Contrast that with just $3 billion of total foreign debt and $300 million of annual debt servicing, Dardari said.
While Syria’s inward-looking economy has limited its integration with the world economy, Dardari acknowledged that international sanctions would still disrupt trade, especially with the European Union, the destination for half of Syria’s exports and the origin of 37 percent of its imports.
