In Damascus, the heads of French and German diplomacy plead for a peaceful transition

Damascus, Jan 3, 2025 (AFP) — The heads of French and German diplomacy have called for a peaceful and inclusive transition in Syria, where they met Friday with the country’s new leader, Islamist Ahmad al-Chareh.

The meeting was the first at this level between officials from major Western powers and Ahmad al-Shareh, who took over the country on December 8 after President Bashar al-Assad fled power for more than 20 years.

Jean-Noël Barrot and Annalena Baerbock, whose visit is taking place under the mandate of the European Union, met with him in the presidential palace overlooking Damascus.

The early days of Ahmad al-Shareh, leader of the radical Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which led the coalition that seized Damascus, are being closely scrutinized.

“A better future for Syria means an inclusive and peaceful transfer of power, reconciliation and reconstruction,” Baerbock told reporters after the meeting with the new Syrian leader.

“It is now necessary to establish a political dialogue that includes all ethnic and religious groups and includes all citizens,” she said.

Mr. Barrot indicated on X that he had obtained, with his German counterpart, from the provisional authorities “assurances on broad participation – notably of women – in the political transition”, the hosting of a mission from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and cooperation with neighboring Lebanon.

– “Guarantees” for the Kurds –

Faced with the challenge of unifying the country, fragmented by more than ten years of war, Ahmad al-Chareh has pledged to dissolve the armed factions, notably HTS.

He announced his intention to convene a national dialogue, without specifying a date, and indicated that organizing elections could take four years.

The head of French diplomacy, who met with religious representatives of the Christian community, figures from civil society and spoke with the military leader of the Kurds, echoed their concerns since the Islamists came to power.

“A political solution must be found with France’s allies, the Kurds, so that they are fully integrated” into the new political process, he said.

On the eve of his visit, Jean-Noël Barrot had a meeting with the head of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF, dominated by the Kurds), Mazloum Abdi, who control large parts of north-eastern Syria.

His German counterpart called for “serious security guarantees for the Kurds, as well as the integration of Kurdish forces” into the new army.

Mr. Barrot also announced that France had proposed organizing an international conference at the end of January, “involving Syria and its partners” to support the political transition “in the right direction.”

And he offered his country’s expertise and that of the EU to help the Syrians draft a new constitution.

Officials from many Arab and Western countries have visited Damascus since the fall of Bashar al-Assad, breaking the isolation imposed on Syria since 2011.

Ahmad al-Chareh is calling for the lifting of international sanctions imposed on Bashar al-Assad’s government after the repression of a popular uprising in 2011, which sparked a war that left more than half a million dead, forced millions into exile and devastated the country.

– Visit to a prison –

HTS, the former Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda, claims to have broken with jihadism but remains classified as “terrorist” by several Western capitals, notably Washington.

While Bashar al-Assad’s main allies were Russia and Iran, the new power has moved closer to Turkey and Qatar, sketching out overtures towards the West.

During their visit, Mr Barrot and Ms Baerbock also visited Saydnaya prison, a symbol of the mass repression of the former regime.

Accompanied by Syrian rescue workers, they visited cells where detention conditions were inhumane and where many detainees died under torture.

According to the Association of Detainees and Disappeared Persons of Saydnaya Prison, more than 4,000 prisoners were released there on the day Damascus fell.

“France and Germany have committed to providing their technical expertise in criminology to promote the fight against impunity for the crimes of the Assad regime,” according to a source at the Quai d’Orsay.

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