DAMASCUS (dpa-AFX) – Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has warned the Syrian interim government in Damascus against falling back into Islamist structures. What is now needed is a political dialogue involving all ethnic and religious groups, especially women, said Baerbock at the end of her joint visit to Damascus with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot. Europe will support Syria, but will not become a financier of new Islamist structures, she emphasized.
When asked whether she was committed to an early lifting of the sanctions against Syria, Baerbock reacted with reservation. That depends on how the political process is designed.
She traveled to Syria to talk to the transitional government and other actors about “whether such a political, inclusive process is possible, whether compliance with human rights can really be guaranteed. And this is also linked to the whole question of the lifting of sanctions.” said the minister.
Al-Sharaa had broken away from Al-Qaeda
Baerbock and Barrot had previously been received by Syria’s de facto ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa. The leader of the Islamist rebel group Haiat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) was previously known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Jolani. The HTS group emerged from the Al-Nusra Front, an offshoot of the Al-Qaeda terrorist network. Al-Sharaa broke away from Al-Qaeda and the terrorist organization Islamic State (IS). To this day, however, there are reports that the HTS leadership maintains contact with Al-Qaeda./bk/DP/he