Damascus — The European Union supports a peaceful and inclusive transition in Syria, senior French and German diplomats said Friday during their visit to Damascus to meet new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot and his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock were in the Syrian capital for talks on behalf of the European Union, as part of the highest-level visit by major Western powers since the forces led by the Islamists. overthrew longtime leader Bashar al-Assad last month.
One of their first stops was the famous Sednaya prison, not far from the capital.
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Accompanied by White Helmet rescuers, Barrot and Baerbock visited the cells and underground dungeons of Sednaya, which for decades have been a fearsome symbol of atrocities committed against Assad’s opponents.
The prison has been the scene of extrajudicial executions, torture and enforced disappearances. An advocacy group said more than 4,000 people were released from the detention center when rebel forces took Damascus on December 8. Countless other detainees – criminals and opponents of Assad – simply disappeared after being incarcerated there.
In 2017, the US State Department said the Assad regime was using a crematorium in Sednaya to dispose of corpses in a effort to “cover up” mass murders we played there.
“A fragile hope” for a “stable and peaceful” Syria
Sharaa, leader of the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), led the offensive that toppled Assad. The HTS-dominated interim authorities now face the daunting task of rebuilding state institutions, with growing calls to ensure an inclusive transition and guarantee minority rights.
Barrot, in Damascus, expressed hope for a “sovereign, stable and peaceful” Syria.
It is also a “hope that the aspirations of all Syrians can be realized,” he added, “but it is a fragile hope.”
In a statement, Baerbock said Germany wanted to help Syria become a “safe home” for its entire population and a “functional state, with full control over its territory.”
She said the visit was a “clear signal” to Damascus about the possibility of a new relationship between Syria and Germany, and more broadly with Europe.
European diplomats’ closed-door meeting with Sharaa on Friday lasted about an hour and a half, and they made no official statement to journalists afterward.
Earlier, in an article in X, Barrot said: “Together, France and Germany stand alongside the Syrian people, in all their diversity. »
He added that the two European powers wanted to promote a “peaceful transition” to a new government in the country.
Despite “skepticism” of HTS – which was previously the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda and remains designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and many other governments – Baerbock said that “we must not missing the opportunity to support the Syrian people at this important crossroads.” .”
Sharaa has distanced itself and HTS from al-Qaeda in recent years, and the group’s public statements have suggested plans to respect Syria’s myriad religious groups.
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The Biden administration said after Assad fled to Russia that the United States could recognize a new Syrian government under certain conditions. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the new leadership and transition process must ensure protection of Syrian minority groups, a flow of humanitarian aid into the country, prevent Syria from being used as a base by terrorist organizations and help ensure that any chemicals and chemicals. biological weapons are secured and destroyed.
Baerbock said Friday that Berlin was ready to support “an inclusive and peaceful transfer of power” as well as social “reconciliation” in Syria.
She also asked the new regime to avoid “acts of revenge against groups within the population”, to avoid a long delay before elections and to avoid any attempt to “Islamize” the judicial and educational systems. .
Since Assad’s ouster, many foreign envoys have traveled to Damascus to meet the country’s new leaders. Both France and Germany had already sent lower-level delegations last month.
At the start of his visit, Barrot met with representatives of Syria’s Christian communities. Diplomatic sources said Barrot told Christian leaders that France was committed to a pluralistic Syria with equal rights for all, including minority groups.
Syria’s civil war – which began in 2011 with the Assad government’s brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests – has seen Germany, France and many other countries close their diplomatic missions in Damascus.
The conflict has killed more than 500,000 people, displaced millions and left Syria fragmented and ravaged.
The new authorities have called for sanctions imposed on Syria under Assad to be lifted to allow reconstruction.
Paris is due to host an international summit on Syria later this month, following a similar meeting in December in Jordan.