Syria’s new leaders are scheduled to meet French and German foreign ministers in the capital Damascus on Friday, in one of the highest-level Western diplomatic visits since President Bashar al-Assad was ousted last month.
Germany’s top diplomat Annalena Verbock and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrault make their first visit in years to represent the European Union, as world powers begin to forge ties with Prime Minister Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. arrived in Damascus. Islamist group leading Syria’s new government.
Burbock and Barot were scheduled to meet with the group’s leader, Ahmad Al Shara. They also visited the infamous Sednaya prison, where Mr. al-Assad’s regime tortured and murdered thousands of detainees.
“We are visiting Damascus today to offer our support, but also with clear expectations for the new rulers,” Burbock said in a statement. “A new beginning can only happen if all Syrians, regardless of ethnicity or religion, are given a place to participate in the political process.”
The visit is part of a series of meetings between rebel leaders and Western officials, as al-Shara has sought to cultivate a moderate image since taking power, gradually opening new lines of communication with Syrian authorities. That’s what I’m aiming for.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham remains blacklisted as a terrorist group by the United States and United Nations because of its past ties to al-Qaeda. Al-Shara called on the international community to lift the designation, sought reassurance for ethnic minorities, and said he wanted to focus on rebuilding Syria after years of civil war.
“Current events demand the lifting of all sanctions against Syria,” he said in a television interview last month.
Many countries, including the United States, are beginning to forge relationships with the new government. In late December, Barbara Leaf, the State Department’s top Middle East official, met with al-Shara in Damascus and informed him that Washington would no longer enforce the long-standing bounty for his arrest.
On Friday, Barot also visited the site of the disused French embassy in Damascus, which was closed in 2012 as the civil war escalated, the French Foreign Ministry said.
The diplomacy comes amid realignment across the Middle East, where Syria is a historically great power and has for decades been a symbol of iron-fisted rule by a single dynasty, something most Syrians oppose. was. The country’s nearly 14-year civil war has involved at least six foreign armies, including Iran, Russia, Turkey and the United States.
Al-Shara’s group is conservative and follows the tenets of political Islam, although it broke with and fought against al-Qaeda and the Islamic State several years ago. Since 2017, it has ruled most of Syria’s Idlib province, which was held by Assad’s rebels.
Officials within the group developed ambitious plans to form a new government, and rebel leaders assumed key positions overseeing the transition. An interim government will be established in consultation with Syrians of all backgrounds, and a committee will be established to draw up a new Syrian constitution.
Other developments in the region include:
Houthi missile attack: Iranian-backed Yemeni militias fired ballistic missiles into Israel early Friday, setting off air raid sirens across central Israel, including Jerusalem. The Israeli military said it had intercepted the missile, but there were no reports of serious casualties. Israeli warplanes have flown more than 1,000 miles to attack Houthi-held areas in Yemen, but Israel has struggled to stop attacks that have escalated over the past month.
Israel’s attack on Lebanon: The Israeli military announced Thursday night that it had shelled Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon as a 60-day cease-fire largely held. Since the deal entered into force in late November, Israel has repeatedly shelled Hezbollah fighters who it says are violating the agreement. Hezbollah has generally refrained from responding militarily. The current ceasefire is set to expire at the end of January, but the United States and its allies hope it will become permanent.
