The French and German foreign ministers have met Syria’s new de facto rulers in Damascus, marking the first trip by top European officials to the country since the fall of former president Bashar al-Assad last month.
Germany’s Annalena Baerbock and France’s Jean-Noel Barrot held talks with Syria’s de-facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, also referred to as Abu Mohammed al-Julani, in the Syrian capital on Friday.
The French and German foreign ministers have met Syria’s new de facto rulers in Damascus, marking the first trip by top European officials to the country since the fall of former president Bashar al-Assad last month.
Germany’s Annalena Baerbock and France’s Jean-Noel Barrot held talks with Syria’s de-facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, also referred to as Abu Mohammed al-Julani, in the Syrian capital on Friday.
Their visit comes as Western governments open channels with al-Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) – a group with past links to al-Qaeda that led the rebellion against al-Assad – debating whether to remove its terrorist designation.
Barrot landed first in the Syrian capital on Friday morning, having posted on social media platform X that France and Germany stood with the Syrian people “in all their diversity”, voicing support for a “peaceful and demanding transition in the service of the Syrians and for regional stability”.
“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,” Barrot said after meeting civil society representatives in Damascus
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