German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is traveling to Syria for a one-day trip with her French counterpart on behalf of the EU. While there, she will meet with the leader of Syria’s new ruler, Ahmed al-Sharaa, the German foreign ministry says on Friday.
“My trip today — together with my French counterpart and on behalf of the EU — is a clear signal to the Syrians: A new political beginning between Europe and Syria, between Germany and Syria, is possible,” Baerbock says, according to a ministry statement issued before she departs for Damascus.
She adds that she is traveling to Syria with an “outstretched hand” after rebels seized control of Damascus on December 8, forcing Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad to flee after more than 13 years of civil war and ending his family’s decades-long rule.
“We now have a goal in mind that millions of Syrians also long for: That Syria can once again become a respected member of the international community,” she adds.
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