The German Foreign Minister heads to Damascus on a one-day visit by Reuters

BERLIN (Reuters) – German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock will head to Syria on a one-day visit with her French counterpart on behalf of the European Union, where she will meet with the leader of Syria’s new rulers, Ahmed al-Sharaa, the German Foreign Minister. The ministry said on Friday.

“My trip today – with my French counterpart and on behalf of the European Union – is a clear signal to the Syrians: a new political beginning is possible between Europe and Syria, between Germany and Syria,” Baerbock said, according to what the ministry quoted him as saying. A statement issued before her departure for Damascus.

She added that she was traveling to Syria “with an outstretched hand” after opposition fighters took control of Damascus on December 8, forcing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to flee after more than 13 years of civil war and ending his family’s decades-long rule. .

She added: “We now have a goal in mind that millions of Syrians also long for: for Syria to once again become a respected member of the international community.”