Germany's FM heads to Syria for one-day trip

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is travelling to Syria for a one-day trip with her French counterpart on behalf of the EU, where she will meet with the leader of Syria’s new rulers, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, the German Foreign Ministry said today, according to Reuters.

“My trip today – together with my French counterpart and on behalf of the EU – is a clear signal to the Syrians: A new political beginning between Europe and Syria, between Germany and Syria, is possible,” Baerbock said, according to a ministry statement issued before she left for Damascus.

She added that she was travelling to Syria with an “outstretched hand” after rebels seized control of Damascus on 8 December, forcing Syria’s President Bashar Al-Assad to flee after more than 13 years of civil war and ending his family’s decades-long rule.

“We now have a goal in mind that millions of Syrians also long for: that Syria can once again become a respected member of the international community,” she added.

READ: Germany plans $62m boost for Syrian schools, other projects