German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Friday warned Syria’s new leaders against installing an Islamist government after the ouster of longtime President Bashar al-Assad, AFP reported.
Photo: SITA/AP
In a photo released by Syria’s official news agency SANA, Syrian de facto leader Ahmad Shara, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani (right), meets with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (left) and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot in Damascus in Syria on Friday 3 January 2025.
“Europe will support Syria in the transition period… but will not finance new Islamist structures”, Baerbock told journalists at the end of her visit to Syria.
“It is not only in our own security interest, but it also confirms what I have heard from the Syrians in Germany… also here,” she added.
Baerbock visited the capital of Syria with the French head of diplomacy, Jean Noël Barrot. It was the first visit by high-ranking representatives of Western countries since the defeat of the Assad regime by Syrian rebels in early December.
The German minister also emphasized the importance of women’s rights, calling them a “benchmark” of progress towards improving human rights. At the same time, she called on Syria’s neighboring states to “respect its territorial integrity and sovereignty.”
Source: spravy.pravda.sk
