Damascus – The European Union supports a peaceful, inclusive transition in Syria, top French and German diplomats said on Friday as they visited Damascus to meet with new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot and his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock were in the Syrian capital for talks on behalf of the European Union. It was the highest-ranking visit by major Western powers since Islamist-led forces Long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad was overthrown last month.

One of their first stops was the infamous Sednaya Prison not far from the capital.

Accompanied by White Helmets rescuers, Barrot and Baerbock toured the cells and underground dungeons of Sednaya, which for decades was considered a fearsome symbol of the atrocities committed against Assad’s opponents.

The prison has been the scene of extrajudicial killings, torture and enforced disappearances. An advocacy group said more than 4,000 people were freed from detention centers when rebels took Damascus on December 8. Countless other inmates – both criminals and Assad opponents – simply disappeared after their imprisonment.

In 2017, the US State Department said that the Assad regime used a crematorium in Sednaya to dispose of bodies in a crematorium Attempt to “cover up” the mass murders. it was carried out there.

“Fragile hope” for a “stable and peaceful” Syria

Sharaa, head of the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), led the offensive that toppled Assad. The HTS-dominated transition authorities now face the daunting task of rebuilding state institutions, and calls for an inclusive transition and guaranteeing minority rights are growing.

In Damascus, Barrot expressed hope for a “sovereign, stable and peaceful” Syria.

It is also a “hope that the hopes of all Syrians can be realized,” he added, “but it is a fragile hope.”

In a statement, Baerbock said Germany wanted to help Syria become a “safe home” for all its people and a “functioning state with full control over its territory.”

She said the visit was a “clear signal” to Damascus of the possibility of a new relationship between Syria and Germany and Europe in general.

European diplomats’ closed meeting with Sharaa on Friday lasted about an hour and a half, and they made no formal statements to journalists afterward.

Barrot had previously said in an article in X: “Together France and Germany stand with the Syrian people in all their diversity.”

He added that the two European powers wanted to promote a “peaceful transition” to a new government in the country.

Despite “skepticism” about HTS – which was formerly the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda and remains classified as a terrorist organization by the US and numerous other governments – Baerbock said: “We must not miss the opportunity to support the Syrian people at this important crossroads support.” .”

Sharaa has distanced herself and HTS from al-Qaeda in recent years, and the group’s public statements indicate that it wants to respect Syria’s myriad religious groups.

The Biden administration said after Assad’s escape to Russia that the US could recognize a new Syrian government under certain conditions. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the new leadership and transition process must ensure the protection of Syria’s minority groups and the flow of humanitarian aid into the country, prevent Syria from being used as a base for terrorist organizations and help prevent any chemical and chemical attacks Bioweapons are secured and destroyed.

Baerbock said on Friday that Berlin was ready to support “an inclusive and peaceful transfer of power” as well as social “reconciliation” in Syria.

She also called on the new regime to avoid “acts of revenge against groups within the population,” avoid a long delay before elections and fend off any attempts to “Islamize” the justice and education systems.

Since Assad’s fall, numerous foreign envoys have traveled to Damascus to meet with the country’s new leaders. France and Germany had already sent lower-level delegations last month.

At the beginning of his visit, Barrot met with representatives of Syria’s Christian communities. Diplomatic sources said Barrot told Christian leaders that France was committed to a pluralistic Syria with equal rights for all, including minority groups.

Syria’s civil war, which began in 2011 with the Assad government’s brutal suppression of pro-democracy protests, led Germany, France and a number of other countries to close their diplomatic missions in Damascus.

The conflict left more than 500,000 people dead, millions displaced and Syria fractured and devastated.

The new authorities have called for sanctions imposed on Syria under Assad to be lifted to allow reconstruction.

After a similar meeting in December in Jordan, Paris will host an international summit on Syria later this month.