The United States officially announced a new round of sanctions waivers for northern Syria on 12 May, marking a major shift in US sanctions policy that carries substantial economic and political implications. Given the increasingly dire humanitarian situation across Syria, the decision is a welcome modification in approach that could lead to major improvements for the average Syrian citizen in northeast (NES) and northwest Syria (NWS). However, the announcement will also harden the de facto state of partition that constitutes Syria today as Washington aims to bolster support for the Autonomous…