"The 2,000-lira [another name for the Syrian pound] note was printed in Russia, just like other banknotes in several recent years, and has protective advantages limiting the possibility of currency counterfeiting," Governor of the Central Bank of Syria Duraid Durgham told Sputnik.
The fresh bills were issued in 2015, but their introduction was delayed because the country's financial authorities needed to wait until monetary policy and the exchange rate would allow for the transfer to be carried out into circulation. According to Durgham, the face of President Bashar Assad on the banknote does not convey any political message, but is nevertheless a statement of the Syrian authorities that the country's economy and currency are in good condition.