The ministers of foreign affairs of Germany and France were to meet Syria’s de facto new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa during a trip to the country yesterday on behalf of the EU, the German and French ministries of foreign affairs said.
The ministers, who arrived separately in Damascus on yesterday morning, are also meet representatives of Syrian civil society and visit Syria’s most notorious prison, the vast Sednaya complex, the ministries saod.
“My trip today — together with my French counterpart and on behalf of the EU — is a clear signal to the Syrians: A new political beginning between Europe and Syria, between Germany and Syria, is possible,” German Minister of Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock said, according to a ministry statement issued before she left for Damascus.
Photo: AFP
Baerbock and French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot are the first ministers from the EU to visit Syria since rebels seized control of Damascus on Dec. 8 and forced former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad to flee after more than 13 years of civil war and ending his family’s decades-long rule.
Barrot expressed his hope “for a sovereign, stable and peaceful Syria” after arriving in Damascus, where he also visited the French embassy, which has been closed since 2012.
French diplomatic sources said Barrot met with the Syrian staff who looked after the facilities and reaffirmed the need to work towards re-establishing diplomatic representation in line with political and security conditions.
Since ousting al-Assad, Islamist rebels led by al-Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) have sought to reassure Arab countries and the international community that they will govern on behalf of all Syrians and not export Islamist revolution.
Western governments have begun to gradually open channels with al-Sharaa and HTS, a Sunni Muslim group previously affiliated with al-Qaeda and Islamic State, and are starting to debate whether to remove the group’s terrorist designation.
A host of questions remain about the future of a multi-ethnic country where foreign states, including Turkey and Russia, have strong and potentially competing interests.
Baerbock said she was travelling to Syria with an “outstretched hand” as well as “clear expectations” of the new rulers, who she said would be judged by their actions.
“We know where the HTS comes from ideologically, what it has done in the past,” Baerbock said. “But we also hear and see the desire for moderation and for understanding with other important actors.”
Germany and its international partners were committed to ensuring Syrian internal matters were not disrupted by outside influences, Baerbock added, calling on Russia to leave its military bases in Syria.
The goal now is for Syria to once again become a respected member of the international community, she said.
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