Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa is due to meet the French and German foreign ministers on Friday, in the highest-level visit by major Western powers under the new authorities in Damascus.
Top French diplomat Jean-Noel Barrot arrived in the Syrian capital on Friday, according to news agency AFP.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock joined him later, a ministry source told AFP, for talks on behalf of the European Union.
Barrot, in a post in X, said: “Together, France and Germany stand alongside the Syrian people, in all their diversity.”
He added that the two European powers wanted to promote a “peaceful transition”.
In Damascus, he expressed hope for a “sovereign, stable and peaceful” Syria.
It was also a “hope that the aspirations of all Syrians can be realised”, he added, “but it is a fragile hope”.
In a statement, Baerbock said Germany wanted to help Syria become a “safe home” for all its people, and a “functioning state, with full control over its territory”.
She said the visit was a “clear signal” to Damascus of the possibility for a new relationship between Syria and Germany, and Europe more broadly.
