A French diplomatic mission will travel to the Syrian capital Damascus this Tuesday to reestablish contact after the fall of Bashar al-Assad, acting Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said. Likewise, the US, the UK and other countries are investigating how they might normalise relations with the new regime.
Governments worldwide are stepping up efforts to engage with Syria's new interim rulers, just over a week after Islamist-led rebels ousted president Bashar al-Assad, ending decades of brutal rule and civil war.
Governments are carefully assessing their response to the new reality, especially in countries where the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebel group remains proscribed as a "terrorist" organisation.
HTS is rooted in Syria's branch of Al-Qaeda, but since toppling Assad has sought to moderate its tone, vowing to protect members of all religious communities in the multi-confessional, multi-ethnic country.
A four-strong French diplomatic team is due in Damascus on Tuesday to "retake possession of our real estate", make "initial contact" with the new authorities, and "evaluate the urgent needs of the population", acting Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on Monday.
France welcomes fall of Syria's Assad, calls for peaceful transition
Turkey, a key backer of HTS, reopened its embassy in Damascus, on Saturday.
Both Britain and the United States also confirmed they were in touch with HTS despite officially considering the organisation a terrorist group.
"We can have diplomatic contact and so we do have diplomatic contact," British Foreign Minister David Lammy said as he announced an aid package for Syrians.
The embassy of the Gulf Emirate of Qatar is also to resume operations Tuesday, its foreign ministry announced Sunday as its diplomats visited the country and met with representatives of its transitional government.
Unlike other Arab states, Qatar never restored diplomatic ties with Assad after a rupture in 2011.
Syrians hold rallies in Paris and across Europe to celebrate fall of Assad
'Peaceful future'
Meanwhile, in a joint statement after a meeting in Jordan on Monday, diplomats from the European Union, the United States, Turkey, and Arab countries "affirmed the full support to the Syrian people at this critical point in their history to build a more hopeful, secure and peaceful future".
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said that the bloc, Syria's biggest aid provider, is "interested in rebuilding and reconstruction of Syria".
"We can't leave a vacuum," Kallas said, adding: "For us, it's not only the words, but we want to see the deeds going to the right direction. So not only what they are saying, but also what they are doing," she indicated, referring to HTS leaders.
The EU and its counterparts called for a Syrian-led transition to "produce an inclusive, non-sectarian and representative government formed through a transparent process", with respect for human rights.
"Syria finally has the chance to end decades of isolation," the group said.
The head of the US-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, in the country's northeast, on Saturday appealed on social media platform X for Kurds "to adopt a favourable position toward the Syrian dialogue".
UN special envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen – who met interim prime minister Mohammad al-Bashir – urged participants in the Jordan talks to provide humanitarian aid and to ensure "that state institutions do not collapse".
Assad – who has sought refuge in ally Russia on Monday said he left Syria only after Damascus had fallen and he denounced the country's new leaders as "terrorists".
Five former officials previously told French news agency AFP that hours before rebel forces seized Damascus on 8 December, the former Syrian president was already out of the country.
The officials said that the night before, Assad had even asked his close adviser to prepare a speech – which the ousted leader never gave – before flying from Damascus airport to Russia's Hmeimim air base, and from there out of the country.
Waiting for 'positive signals'
Meanwhile, foreign ministers from the United States, UK, France, Germany and Italy will hold a virtual meeting on Tuesday on developments in Syria, Italy's Antonio Tajani said Monday.
"We hope that the first positive signals will transform into concrete positive signals," Foreign Minister Tajani said at a conference of diplomats at the Italian foreign ministry.
Italy, which holds the presidency of the G7 group of rich nations in 2024, earlier this year named an ambassador to Damascus for the first time in over a decade.
(With newswires)
