Germany’s foreign minister heads to Damascus for one-day trip By Reuters

BERLIN (Reuters) – German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is travelling to Syria for a one-day trip with her French counterpart on behalf of the EU, where she will meet with the leader of Syria’s new rulers, Ahmed al-Sharaa, the German foreign ministry said 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 said, according to a ministry statement issued before she left for Damascus.

She added that she was travelling to Syria with an “outstretched hand” after rebels seized control of Damascus on Dec. 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 added.