the essential
This Friday, January 3, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot is going to Syria with his German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock. This visit marks the first official presence of the Quai d'Orsay in Syria in more than a decade.
This is the first official visit from the Quai d'Orsay to Syria in more than a decade. This Friday, December 3, Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister of Foreign Affairs, goes to Damascus, accompanied by his German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock. The two ministers are preparing to meet Ahmad al-Chareh, the new Syrian leader at the head of a coalition led by radical Islamists, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), as well as “representatives of civil society” .
Today I am going to Damascus with @ABaerbock.
Together, France and Germany stand alongside the Syrian people, in all their diversity.
In Syria, we want to promote a peaceful and demanding transition for the benefit of Syrians and for regional stability.
— Jean-Noël Barrot (@jnbarrot) https://twitter.com/jnbarrot/status/1875050766442119290?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
This visit comes twelve years after the closure of the French embassy in Syria. According to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this meeting aims to “mark the desire of France and Germany to stand alongside the Syrian people, in all their diversity […] to promote a peaceful and demanding transition.
“The opportunity to support the Syrian people”
The discussions promise to be delicate, as they include crucial issues such as the fight against terrorism and the reconstruction of a functional Syrian state. “The exchanges will also make it possible to work on responding to collective security challenges, first and foremost the fight against terrorism,” said the Quai d’Orsay.
Also read:
DECRYPTION. Syria: the Islamic State is back? How the fall of Bashar Al-Assad’s regime raises fears of a revival of terrorism
Beforehand, Jean-Noël Barrot, from Lebanon, had expressed his wish for a political transition that would include all Syrian communities. Annalena Baerbock, for her part, stressed that Germany wanted to help Syria once again become “a safe home for all its inhabitants” and to restore “total control over its territory”. This trip “under EU mandate” is “a clear signal to the Syrians: a new political departure between Europe and Syria, between Germany and Syria is possible”, she explains.
However, the move is not unanimous. The choice of dialogue with HTS, long classified as a terrorist group, has raised some criticism. “Despite all the skepticism, we must not miss the opportunity to support the Syrian people at this important crossroads,” said Annalena Baerbock.
France
