Oliver Towfigh Nia
03 January 2025•Update: 03 January 2025
BERLIN
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock wore a bulletproof vest as she arrived on a visit to Syria’s capital Damascus on Friday.
Video footage of Baerbock could be seen on X as she appeared in a bulletproof vest while exiting the rear end of an A400M military aircraft.
Baerbock and her French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot are on a visit to Damascus, according to a German Foreign Ministry statement, marking the first trip by European foreign ministers to Syria since the fall of the Bashar Assad regime last month and the severing of diplomatic ties between the EU and Syria about 12 years ago.
Speaking on behalf of the EU, the two foreign ministers will meet with Ahmed Sharaa, the leader of Syria’s new administration, and representatives of Syrian civil society, the statement said.
“After the fall of the brutal Assad regime, Syria is on the way to a new beginning that the people have longed for. With their trip to Damascus, Foreign Minister Baerbock and her French counterpart Barrot are making it clear on behalf of the EU: We are ready to support Syria in its political restart and peaceful transfer of power, reconstruction and, last but not least, in a social reconciliation process,” it added.
Speaking ahead of her trip, Baerbock said: "The painful chapter of Assad's rule is over. A new chapter has begun, but it has not yet been written. Because at this moment the Syrians have the chance to take the fate of their state into their own hands again. And also to close the deep, open wounds again."
“We want to support them in this: in an inclusive, peaceful transfer of power, in the reconciliation of society, in reconstruction, in addition to the humanitarian aid that we have provided to the people of Syria without ceasing over the years. We all know that this will be a rocky road," she said.
Barrot, for her part, said on X: "In Syria, we want to promote a peaceful and demanding transition in the service of the Syrians and for regional stability."
