A senior EU diplomat will be in Damascus this Monday to begin contacts with the new Syrian Government led by the Islamist armed group Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) after the fall of Bashar al Assad’s regime. This was announced by the high representative of the EU, Kaja Kallas, before her first meeting with the foreign ministers of the 27 in which they will discuss what these new relations should be like.
“Our top diplomat will go to Damascus today. He will have contacts there and we are going to discuss with the ministers the level and how we proceed from here,” said Kallas, who this Saturday participated in Jordan in a meeting with eight Arab countries, the United States, Turkey and UN representation to establish a common framework. regarding the relationship with the new Syrian authorities, from whom they basically demand a peaceful transition.
“We are unanimous in supporting Syria to launch a comprehensive political process that responds to aspirations and rights and guarantees a better future for all in this historical moment that we want to become an achievement for the Syrian people in order to close an era. of years of suffering,” said the Jordanian Foreign Minister, Ayman al Safadi, who asked for respect for all components, ethnicities and confessions of the Syrian people, without excluding anyone, and respect for women and young people,” as well as ”rebuild and preserve State institutions”, and guarantee that Syria does not become an ”incubator or generator of terrorism”, reports Agencia EFE.
“It was important to agree on those principles,” explained Kallas, who emphasized the need to see “the photo in the same way” both internationally and with allies in the region. Although at the moment they see progress “in the right direction”, the high representative has admitted that there is “uncertainty” and that we will have to see how the situation evolves to take future measures such as the elimination of HTS from the list of terrorist organizations or the sanctions on Syria.
At the moment, contacts with the authorities are beginning, which countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom have also initiated, and the debate on how to relate to the new Government. “Our plans are to reestablish some type of presence, talk to them and make a difference, but it doesn’t just depend on us,” community sources said last Friday. The European countries of the Mediterranean also have important interests in Syria, which will also have to present their plan.
Sanctions for the war in Ukraine against Russia, China and North Korea
The foreign ministers are expected to give the green light to the fifteenth package of sanctions for the war in Ukraine, which this time will affect the so-called “shadow fleet” with which Russia is avoiding the penalties. In total, 52 ships and 32 companies and 53 people will be punished, among whom are North Korean officials, such as those responsible for the North Korean General Staff for sending troops to fight against Ukraine. It will also include Chinese companies that the EU believes are helping Russia on the battlefield.
“Anyone who allows this war will have to pay a price,” said Kallas, who is one of the EU’s anti-Putin ‘hawks’. In fact, the Russian president issued a search and arrest warrant when she was Prime Minister of Estonia.
Regarding the hypothetical sending of peace forces to Ukraine that France or Poland have proposed thinking about the day after, Kallas has assured that “first there has to be peace”: “Russia does not want peace.”
#sends #diplomatic #representative #Damascus #contact #Syrian #Government
