PRoughly thirteen years after its closure in 2012, the French embassy will reopen in Damascus. The announcement was made by the head of French diplomacy in an interview with West France Saturday January 18.
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“We are preparing to reestablish our presence in Damascus and Syria,” declared the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs. In 2012, the era was marked by a violent repression of the Syrian revolution by the regime of Bashar al-Assad, in a context where security conditions were considered incompatible with the maintenance of diplomatic representation, indicates the minister.
The fall of the el-Assad regime on December 8 disrupted this state of affairs, the gradual withdrawal of Russia, absorbed by its war in Ukraine, and the weakening of Iran and Hezbollah under Israeli strikes. in South Lebanon having potentially facilitated this overthrow. However, uncertainties persist about the stability of the country and the fight against terrorist groups that still operate there.
-Risk of proliferation of chemical weapons
Among the priorities displayed by France, specifies the minister, is the destruction of “undeclared” chemical weapons stocks. In this context, Jean-Noël Barrot also announces the imminent dispatch, “in a few days”, of a mission from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). “I asked Ahmed al-Charaa to host a mission to avert this risk. This is a first step to prevent their spread and ensure their destruction,” he explained.
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This initiative resonates with the Syrian regime's track record in this area. In 2013 and 2017, chemical attacks emanating from the regime targeted civilian areas under opposition control. A note from the Quai d'Orsay, released last December, underlines that undeclared stocks of these weapons represent “a risk of proliferation”. “The fall of the Bashar el-Assad regime offers the historic opportunity to finally destroy these weapons,” underlined Jean-Noël Barrot.
The reopening of the French embassy is part of a broader strategy aimed at supporting the political transition in Syria, with the new authorities in place first being called upon to “take up” the subject of chemical weapons, explains the minister.
