French, German foreign ministers visit Damascus to meet Syria’s new rulers

Germany’s Annalena Baerbock offers ‘outstretched hand’, but underlines EU ‘expectations’ on diversity and tolerance.

The French and German foreign ministers have arrived in Damascus to meet Syria’s new rulers, marking the first trip by top European Union officials to the country since the fall of former president Bashar al-Assad last month.

Germany’s Annalena Baerbock and France’s Jean-Noel Barrot will hold talks with Syria’s de-facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, also referred to as Abu Mohammed al-Julani, in the Syrian capital on Friday.

Their visit comes as Western governments open channels with al-Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a group with past links to al-Qaeda that led the rebellion against al-Assad, debating whether to remove its terrorist designation.

Barrot landed first in the Syrian capital on Friday morning, having posted on social media platform X that France and Germany stood with the Syrian people “in all their diversity”, voicing support for a “peaceful and demanding transition in the service of the Syrians and for regional stability”.

Ahead of the one-day trip, Baerbock spoke of a “new political beginning” between the EU and Syria, signalling she would arrive with an “outstretched hand” as well as “clear expectations” of the new rulers, who she said would be judged by their actions.