German, French FMs meet Syria’s new rulers, urge peaceful transition
The foreign ministers of Germany and France met with Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa in Damascus on Friday, marking the first visit by European Union ministers to the country since the fall of the Assad regime in December. The ministers said they sought to establish a new relationship with Syria and urged a peaceful transition of power.
Annalena Baerbock of Germany and Jean-Noel Barrot of France visited Syria on behalf of the European Union following the ousting of President Bashar Al-Assad and the end of his family’s decades-long rule on Dec. 8, when rebel forces seized control of Damascus. The ministers’ visit is intended to signal cautious optimism to the Islamist rebels of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), led by Al-Sharaa. It also conveys an openness to acknowledge the new leadership, while emphasizing the need for moderation and respect for the rights of minorities.
“Our message to Syria’s new leadership: respecting the principles agreed with regional actors and ensuring the protection of all civilians and minorities is of the utmost importance,” Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief, wrote on X.
In a statement before leaving for Damascus, Baerbock said her visit was “a clear signal” on behalf of the EU to begin a “new political beginning between Europe and Syria, between Germany and Syria”. She said she was extending an “outstretched hand” to Syria following Assad’s ouster and the 13-year civil war, adding that the goal was for “Syria canonce again become a respected member of the international community.”
While in Syria, Barrot and Baerbock visited the Sednaya prison, known for the arbitrary detention, torture, and murder of inmates during the Assad regime. Barrot described the prison as a “concentration camp style of hell” and said he and Baerbock were “emotionally struck by the barbarism we discovered.”
“Syria cannot rise above if justice is not served,” Barrot said. “Therefore, as of today, we are offering the transitional authorities France’s technical expertise to contribute to the struggle against impunity, to help achieve transitional justice, as we have done for many years already.”
Baerbock urged the international community to “help to bring justice to the people who have suffered here in this prison of hell,” according to Reuters.
Barrot said he would recommend the new transitional government call on the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to send a team to Syria to assess and eliminate chemical weapons.
Barrot told journalists that Germany and France plan to offer technical assistance and advice to Syria as the country drafts a new constitution. He added that the hope for the country’s democratic transition was “fragile but real.”
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