The foreign ministers of Italy, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States will meet in Rome on Thursday to discuss the situation in Syria, the Italian government announced on Tuesday. The head of Italian diplomacy Antonio Tajani will chair the meeting, his ministry said in a press release.
The US State Department announced on Monday that Secretary of State Anthony Blinken would meet with his European counterparts “to foster a peaceful, Syrian-led political transition”.
After 13 years of war, armed groups led by the radical Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) took the Syrian capital Damascus on December 8 and chased out deposed President Bashar al-Assad, who fled to Russia.
The transitional government in Damascus is pushing for the lifting of international sanctions on the country, but many capitals, including Washington, have said they are waiting to see how the new authorities exercise their power before lifting restrictions.
The new authorities have increased their gestures of openness towards the international community and the head of diplomacy, Assaad al-Chaibani, is leading an Arab tour which has already taken him to the Emirates and Qatar, after a first visit to Saudi Arabia.
According to the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Tajani wanted this meeting “to take stock of the situation one month after the fall of the al-Assad regime”.
The program will notably include the transitional government of Syria and the challenges posed by the upcoming national dialogue conference, as well as the development of a new Constitution and the restarting of the Syrian economy.
Anthony Blinken will be in Rome at the same time as President Joe Biden, who will make a farewell visit including an audience with Pope Francis.
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