“A political new beginning between Europe and Syria, between Germany and Syria, is possible,” Baerbock said.
The two top diplomats are the first EU ministers to visit Syria since the toppling of President Bashar Assad in December.
Al-Sharaa greeted Baerbock and Barrot at the palace entrance, avoiding a handshake with Baerbock but briefly shaking hands with Barrot.
After arriving in Damascus, Barrot expressed hope for a “sovereign, stable and peaceful” Syria.
French Foreign Minister Barrot also met with members of Syria’s civil society, the French AFP news agency reported.
According to Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, if all of Syria’s ethnic and religious groups participate in the political negotiations, Europe will back the country’s interim government in Damascus on Friday.
“There is a possibility of a new political beginning between Europe and Syria, between Germany and Syria,” Baerbock stated.
Baerbock and Jean-Noel Barrot of France met Ahmad al-Sharaa, the de facto leader of Syria, in Damascus.
Following the overthrow of President Bashar Assad in December, the two senior diplomats are the first European Union ministers to travel to Syria.
Sanctions against Syria will be lifted based on the political process.
Removing EU sanctions will rely on the future political process, Baerbock said following discussions with Al-Sharaa and other officials.
“To discuss whether such an inclusive political process is possible and whether human rights can truly be guaranteed,” she and Barrot traveled to Damascus. “This is the whole issue of lifting sanctions,” Baerbock stated.
Baerbock told reporters at the conclusion of her visit that while “Europe will support” Syria in its transition, “Europe will not finance new Islamist structures.”.
While avoiding a handshake with Baerbock, Al-Sharaa greeted Barrot and Baerbock at the palace entrance.
Women and men of all ethnic and religious backgrounds must participate in Syria’s new political system and be protected, according to Baerbock, if the country’s new government is to have relations with Germany and the EU.
On social media platform X, Barrot shared the following: “France and Germany stand together with the Syrian people, in all their diversity. “.
Once in Damascus, Barrot said he hoped for a “sovereign, stable and peaceful” Syria.
Additionally, he stated that there was a “hope that the aspirations of all Syrians can be realized,” but that hope was brittle. “..”.
Barrot and Baerbock tour the infamous Saydnaya prison.
According to Amnesty International, the infamous Saydnaya prison—dubbed “the human slaughterhouse”—was one of the first places visited during the trip.
White Helmet rescuers escorted Barrot and Baerbock through the facility’s cells.
In 2013, following the onset of the civil war, volunteers established the White Helmets. They were sent in following the devastating earthquakes in 2023 in Syria and Turkey, and they also assisted in the rescue of victims following airstrikes.
Thousands of civilians were systematically tortured and killed by Syrian authorities under the Assad regime, according to humanitarian organizations.
Baerbock remarked, “You just cannot imagine the horror of some places.”. However, people in the vicinity of Damascus, the capital of Syria, have endured hell. They were killed in ways that are inconceivable in a civilized society. “.”.
Civil society in Syria is hospitable but expectant.
Journalist Christoph Schult, who has been accompanying Baerbock on her trip, said she also met with representatives of Syria’s civil society.
Christoph Schult told DW on Friday that although the representatives “welcome the new development,” they “also fear that the moderate approach that has been taken so far could probably develop into a more extremist one, exclusive one that targets minorities, not including minorities.”. “.”.
The German top diplomat reportedly spoke with a Christian priest, who told Baerbock that although he applauded the changes, “the Christians were more or less safe under the Assad regime,” according to Schult. “..”.
“They are not sure how that will develop under the new rulers,” Schult stated, quoting the priest.
According to the French news agency AFP, French Foreign Minister Barrot also had meetings with civil society representatives in Syria.
According to reports, Barrot stated during the meeting that “a political solution must be reached with France’s allies, the Kurds, so that they are fully integrated into this political process that is beginning today.”.
Additionally, the top French diplomat urged Syria’s new leaders to immediately examine and eliminate chemical weapons caches that belonged to the previous regime.
Handling the new leaders in Syria.
Four weeks have passed since opposition forces in Syria, led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), quickly took over the nation and forced former President Bashar Assad to flee to Russia. The head of Syria’s transitional government is currently regarded as Ahmad al-Sharaa, the leader of the HTS.
Western governments had been considering how to interact with Syria’s new leadership in the days after Assad was overthrown, given that HTS is a designated terrorist organization and is subject to EU sanctions.
“We are aware of HTS’s ideological foundation and its prior actions. However, we also see and hear the desire for understanding and moderation with other key players,” Baerbock said in a statement.
Germany is home to almost a million Syrians.
The German Federal Statistical Office estimates that as of the end of 2023, there were approximately 973,000 Syrians residing in Germany. They have been granted refugee status, numbering about 712,000.
The majority arrived in 2015 when the government of then-Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed to admit refugees from Syria’s civil war.
The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) immediately suspended Syrian nationals’ asylum applications the day after the overthrow of the Assad government.
kb/wd (AFP, dpa).
