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.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock attends a presentation of The Greens party 2025 general election campaign programme, in Berlin, Germany, December 17, 2024.  REUTERS/Nadja Wohlleben/File Photo

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.

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