The Cairo-based Arab League (AL) on Tuesday welcomed the decision of the U.S. Obama administration to lift part of the sanctions imposed on Syria.
"The U.S. decision is a step in the right direction," said Amr Moussa, Secretary General of the pan-Arab bloc, in a statement.
Terming Syria as a "key player" in Arab-Israel conflict and part of the peace settlement, Moussa said Washington has to change its policy, which should be different from the previous U.S. administration, toward the traditional Arab hawk.
He also hoped that there would be "decisive steps" to "lift all kinds of U.S. sanctions" on Damascus.
Syria's official news agency SANA reported Monday that the U.S. government has lifted part of the embargo imposed on Syria.
According to Imad Mustafa, Syria's Ambassador to Washington, the goodwill gesture will cover all fields pertaining to civil aviation safety and civil plane spare parts, as well as the communication and information system equipment and technology, including software, hardware and internet-related equipment.
The decision came after the visit of the U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell to Damascus on Sunday. Mitchell has visited Syria twice since June, which is a strong signal of a thaw between the two countries.
The Barack Obama administration has tried to re-engage Syria as the country, neighboring Israel and Iraq, plays an important role in the Middle East peace process.
Washington first imposed economic sanctions against Syria in 2004 over charges of a state sponsor of terrorism.