Exclusive-Qatar plans to help boost Syrian government salaries, sources say

DAMASCUS/DOHA - Qatar is planning to help finance a massive boost in public sector wages promised by Syria's new government, a U.S. official and a senior diplomat said, vital assistance to the new Islamist rulers in Damascus a month after they toppled Bashar al-Assad.

The support for the new Syrian administration has been made possible by a U.S. sanctions exemption issued by Washington on Monday, allowing for transactions with governing institutions in Syria for six months.

An Arab official said talks on Qatar funding Syrian government salaries were under way and nothing had been finalised, adding that other countries including Saudi Arabia may join in the effort.

A Saudi official told Reuters on Tuesday that the kingdom was committed to working with regional and international partners to help support Syria and that its current support is "focused on humanitarian aid including food, shelter, and medical supplies."

Qatar, a longtime backer of the Syrian armed uprising against Assad, had been lobbying Washington heavily to issue the sanctions exemption so it could provide funding in an official manner, the U.S. official and the diplomat said.

Syrian rebels led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham took power from Assad on Dec. 8 in a lightning offensive and have since installed an interim government that has promised a 400% salary increase for public sector workers.

The total monthly price tag for salaries including the increase is around $120 million, with more than 1.25 million workers on the public-sector payroll, the new finance minister has said.

A Syrian finance ministry source said they had no confirmation on foreign funding of salaries but there had been general pledges of support.

The Qatari foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

HTS was designated a terrorist entity by Washington several years ago but has long-since broken ties with Islamist militant group Al Qaeda and has in recent years signalled a more moderate approach.

The rebels-turned-rulers have promised to embark on an inclusive political process in Syria bringing together all its ethnic and religious components and have made efforts to reach out to other Gulf Arab states wary of their history.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani visited Riyadh on his first official trip abroad last week, and has since made stops in the UAE, Qatar and Jordan.

Arab States, European powers and the U.S. have engaged with the new Syrian rulers as part of an effort to give them a chance to stabilize the country and embark on an inclusive political process, diplomats said.

Qatar, a tiny but wealthy Gulf state that plays an outsized role in international diplomacy, has moved swiftly over the last month to establish links with the new Syrian government, sending senior officials to Damascus and re-opening its embassy. On Tuesday, Qatar Airways resumed regular flights between Doha and Damascus.

Doha severed official relations with the Assad government in 2011 and it rejected efforts by several Arab countries to mend relations with Damascus in recent years.

The White House National Security Council did not immediately respond to questions on whether the U.S. had been informed of the talks about Qatari support and if such an arrangement would meet the requirements of the six-month U.S. sanctions exemption announced on Monday.

(Reporting by Timour Azhari in Damascus and Andrew Mills in Doha; additional reporting by Maha El Dahan in Dubai and Pesha Magid in Riyadh, Editing by William Maclean)