Senior officials from the European Union visited Syria for the first time Friday and met with Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa in the latest sign of the country’s improving relations with the West.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the President of the European Council António Costa both made statements of support for Syria as it struggles to recover after nearly 14 years of civil war, which ended in December 2024 with the ouster of former President Bashar Assad in a lightning rebel offensive led by al-Sharaa, then the leader of an Islamist rebel group.
