A French diplomatic mission will move to Damascus on Tuesday for the first time in 12 years, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barot announced today, speaking to French public radio France Inter.
The aim of the four diplomats who will travel to Syria will be to “recover our positions on the ground”, to “establish the first contacts” with the new authorities and to “measure the urgent needs of the population” at the humanitarian level, he explained.
They should also “verify whether the statements of this rather encouraging new authority which appealed for calm and which apparently has not indulged in abuses, actually brought results on the ground”.
Jean-Noel Barot traveled to Aqaba, Jordan, on Saturday to meet with American, European, Arab and Turkish officials to discuss the transition to Syria after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad, who was ousted on December 8 by Islamist rebels. .
At the end of an 11-day offensive, a coalition of rebel groups led by the radical Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) wrested control of much of the country from government forces, ending half a century of rule by the Assad family.
The new prime minister, in charge of a political transition until March 1, Mohammad al-Bashir, pledged the rule of law and “guaranteeing rights for all”, amid concerns from the international community.
The Aqaba meeting made it possible to create the conditions under which the international community can start a dialogue with the new leadership of the country, mainly on “respect for minorities”, “human rights”, “women’s rights” and fact that “no abuse (is) acceptable,” “the fight against the Islamic State (Daesh) and terrorism,” Barro said.
“As far as the new authorities in Damascus are concerned we are not naive at all, we know the past of some of these Islamist groups,” he continued, explaining that France will monitor the period that begins “with great vigilance”.
“On the security level, the guns must be silenced and the terrorist threat that remains very present must be contained,” he said.
“At the political level, the de facto authorities must give way to a transitional authority that will be representative of all the religions, communities of Syria and that can gradually lead the country towards a new Constitution and eventually towards elections “, added the minister.
Finally, he clarified, “we mobilize unconditionally for the humanitarian aid that must continue to reach the Syrians who need it”, as the conflict has caused significant “population movements”.
RES/EMP
