![An exterior view of the German Embassy as Germany reopens its embassy on Thursday, 13 years after it was shut in the early days of Syria’s civil war in Damascus, Syria on March 20, 2025. [Bakr Al Kasem - Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/AA-20250320-37400029-37400018-GERMANY_REOPENS_ITS_EMBASSY_IN_DAMASCUS_AFTER_13_YEARS.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
Germany has reopened its embassy in Syria 13 years after it was initially closed during the early days of the Syrian revolution and civil war, in a new development that signals further recognition of Syria’s new authorities within the international community.
During a trip to Syria’s capital Damascus yesterday – her second since the fall of the Assad regime on 8 December – to meet Syrian interim President Ahmad Al-Sharaa and other officials, Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock announced the reopening of the German embassy in the war-torn country.
Speaking to reporters, Baerbock stated that “with this embassy opening, we are saying very clearly that Germany is back in Damascus, Germany has a paramount interest in a stable Syria.” She insisted that “we want the political process in Syria to move forward and to support it as well as is possible. For that, we as Europeans and as the Federal Republic of Germany need our colleagues as eyes and ears on the ground.”
Currently, Germany’s embassy in Syria will offer no consular or visa services, and is set to consist of only a small team supported by colleagues based in neighbouring Lebanon while being led by a charge d’affaires. “Whether there will in the future be an ambassador again depends on further political and, of course, security developments here,” Baerbock said.