RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — European Union foreign ministers will meet in late January to discuss easing sanctions imposed on Syria, the bloc’s foreign policy chief said Sunday. However, she said the move would depend on Syria’s new rulers carrying out an inclusive political transition after last month’s overthrow of President Bashar Assad.

Kaja Kallas’ comments came at a gathering of top European and Middle Eastern diplomats in the Saudi capital of Riyadh to discuss Syria’s future.

Saudi Arabia called for the lifting of sanctions, which threaten to undermine Syria’s recovery from nearly 14 years of civil war that killed an estimated 500,000 people and displaced half the country’s prewar population of 23 million.

European countries and the United States have been wary over the Islamist roots of the former insurgents who drove Assad out of power and who now lead an interim government.

Kallas said EU foreign ministers will look at how to ease sanctions during a Jan. 27 meeting in Brussels.

— The Associated Press