Damascus — The European Union backs a peaceable, inclusive transition in Syria, prime French and German diplomats mentioned Friday as they visited Damascus to fulfill with new chief Ahmed al-Sharaa.
French Overseas Minister Jean-Noel Barrot and his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock had been within the Syrian capital for talks on behalf of the European Union, within the highest-level go to by main Western powers since Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad final month.
One in every of their first stops was the infamous Sednaya jail, not removed from the capital.
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Accompanied by White Helmet rescuers, Barrot and Baerbock toured the cells and underground dungeons of Sednaya, which for many years stood as a fearsome image of the atrocities dedicated in opposition to Assad’s opponents.
The jail was the location of extrajudicial executions, torture and compelled disappearances. An advocacy group mentioned greater than 4,000 individuals had been free of the detention facility when insurgent forces took Damascus on December 8. Numerous different inmates — each criminals and Assad opponents — merely vanished after being incarcerated there.
In 2017, the U.S. State Division mentioned the Assad regime was utilizing a crematorium at Sednaya to eliminate lifeless our bodies in an effort to “cover up” the mass murders it was carrying on the market.
“Fragile hope” for a “secure and peaceable” Syria
Sharaa, head of the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), led the offensive that toppled Assad. The HTS-dominated interim authorities now face the daunting job of rebuilding state establishments, with rising calls to make sure an inclusive transition and assure minority rights.
Barrot, in Damascus, expressed hope for a “sovereign, secure and peaceable” Syria.
It was additionally a “hope that the aspirations of all Syrians could be realized,” he added, “however it’s a fragile hope.”
In an announcement, Baerbock mentioned Germany needed to assist Syria turn out to be a “protected residence” for all its individuals, and a “functioning state, with full management over its territory.”
She mentioned the go to was a “clear sign” to Damascus of the chance for a brand new relationship between Syria and Germany, and Europe extra broadly.
The European diplomats’ closed assembly with Sharaa on Friday lasted about an hour and a half, and they didn’t give formal statements to journalists afterward.
Earlier, in a put up in X, Barrot mentioned: “Collectively, France and Germany stand alongside the Syrian individuals, in all their range.”
He added that the 2 European powers needed to advertise a “peaceable transition” to a brand new authorities within the nation.
Regardless of “skepticism” about HTS — which was beforehand the Syrian department of al-Qaeda and stays designated a terrorist group by the U.S. and quite a few different governments — Baerbock mentioned that “we should not miss the chance to assist the Syrian individuals at this essential crossroads.”
Sharaa has distanced himself and HTS from al-Qaeda in recent times, and the group’s public statements have recommended plans to respect Syria’s myriad non secular teams.
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The Biden administration mentioned after Assad fled to Russia that the U.S. may acknowledge a brand new Syrian authorities below sure circumstances. Secretary of State Antony Blinken mentioned the brand new management and the transition course of should make sure the safety of Syria’s minority teams, a stream of humanitarian support into the nation, forestall Syria from getting used as a base for terrorist organizations, and assist be sure that any chemical and organic weapons are secured and destroyed.
Baerbock mentioned Friday that Berlin stood able to assist “an inclusive and peaceable switch of energy” in addition to social “reconciliation” in Syria.
She additionally requested the brand new regime to keep away from “acts of vengeance in opposition to teams throughout the inhabitants,” to keep away from a protracted delay earlier than elections, and to avert any makes an attempt on the “Islamization” of the judicial and schooling methods.
Since Assad’s ousting, a bevy of international envoys have travelled to Damascus to fulfill with the nation’s new leaders. France and Germany had each already despatched lower-level delegations final month.
At first of his go to, Barrot met with representatives of Syria’s Christian communities. Diplomatic sources mentioned Barrot advised the Christian leaders that France was dedicated to a pluralistic Syria with equal rights for all, together with minority teams.
Syria’s civil conflict — which began in 2011 with the Assad authorities’s brutal repression of pro-democracy protests — noticed Germany, France and a bunch of different international locations shutter their diplomatic missions in Damascus.
The battle killed greater than 500,000 individuals, displaced tens of millions and left Syria fragmented and ravaged.
The brand new authorities have referred to as for the lifting of sanctions imposed on Syria below Assad to permit for reconstruction.
Paris is because of host a world summit on Syria later this month, following the same assembly in December in Jordan.
