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President Joe Biden is to leave the issue of lifting a terror designation on Syria's new rulers, Hayaat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), to the incoming Trump administration,  The Washington Post has reported.

The decision could have fundamental consequences for Syrians due to US and international sanctions on Syria which are still in place.

Biden is seeing out his final days in the White House as a new right-wing Republican administration, under President Donald Trump, prepares to inherit the White House later in January.

One key MENA policy issue for Trump will be Syria's new administration, which is linked to HTS - designated as a terrorist organisation by the US since 2012 due to its past links with Al-Qaeda - and how to deal with sanctions initially imposed on Bashar Al-Assad's regime but still in place.

Al-Nusra Front, a predecessor to HTS, officially broke ties with Al-Qaeda in 2017, and formed a military coalition with other more moderate Islamist groups a year later, insisting it has no transnational ambitions.

HTS's armed wing also officially disbanded in December, with all armed factions agreeing to come under the umbrella of the ministry of defence.

Despite this, three US officials said HTS must make it clearer they have no ties with Al-Qaeda.

"Actions will speak louder than words," one senior US official told The Washington Post. 

The US placed more intense sanctions on Syrian regime individuals and entities after Bashar Al-Assad ordered a brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests in 2011, culminating in the Caesar Act in 2020 that widened the scope of the penalties.

There are concerns that the Trump administration will be hostile to the new Syrian government - which overthrew Bashar Al-Assad's regime in December following a surprise offensive - due to the inclusion of right-wing, anti-Islamist officials in the incoming US administration.

This includes Sebastian Gorka who will serve as Trump's counter-terrorism chief. He has a  and his appointment is believed to make a quick lifting of sanctions unlikely.

There have been calls in Syria and internationally for sanctions to be lifted to allow for the facilitation of aid and rebuilding of the country's battered economy and infrastructure.

Germany is said to be leading a push in Europe, to have EU sanctions on Syria lifted, agreeing that HTS leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa appears to be a reformed figure and the country is in desperate need of financial support to ensure future stability.