EU foreign ministers will discuss Syria and cooperation with the new leadership in Brussels.
The head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, announced on Monday that the head of the EU delegation for Syria will arrive in the Syrian capital Damascus to negotiate with the country’s new leadership. The head of the delegation is the German diplomat Michael Ohnmacht. TASR informs about it based on the AFP report.
The ministers of foreign affairs of the EU member states will also discuss Syria and the possibilities of cooperation with the new leadership in Brussels on Monday, Kallasová announced.
Syrian rebels led by the Islamist Organization for the Liberation of the Levant (Hayat Tahrir al-Sham – HTS) launched an unexpected offensive against the regime of long-time Syrian President Bashar Assad at the end of November. In quick succession, they occupied large cities such as Aleppo, Dayr al-Zaur, Hama and Homs. On the night of December 8, they also conquered Damascus and overthrew Assad, who then fled to Moscow.
EU member states, like other Western countries, are wary of Syria’s new leadership, as HTS has its roots in al-Qaeda and is listed as a terrorist group by several governments, writes AFP.
Although the EU severed relations with the regime of former President Assad during the civil war in Syria, it remained the main provider of humanitarian aid to the country, AFP reminds.
