BRUSSELS: EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Monday the bloc’s envoy to Syria was going to Damascus to talk to the new rulers, as Western powers stepped up engagement after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad.
The outreach from Brussels comes after the United States and Britain said they had made contact with the new authorities in Damascus, spearheaded by rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
Regional and international powers are jostling for influence in Syria after Assad was toppled in a lightning offensive, ending five decades of his family’s rule.
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“Our top diplomat in Syria will go to Damascus today. We’ll have the contacts there,” Kallas told journalists ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers.
EU nations – like others in the West – are wary of the new leadership in Damascus, given that HTS had its roots in Al-Qaeda and is listed as a terror group by a number of governments.
The EU cut ties with the Assad regime in Damascus during the country’s civil war, but has remained a major donor of humanitarian aid to help local populations.
Kallas said EU foreign ministers in Brussels would discuss “how we engage with the new leadership of Syria, and on what level we engage”.
“We can’t leave a vacuum,” Kallas, who took over as the EU’s top diplomat this month, said.
International players have expressed cautious optimism as the nascent authorities in Damascus have vowed to protect minorities and form an inclusive government.
Diplomats say some EU member states are pushing to step up ties with Syria after Assad’s ouster, while others are more cautious.
“For us, it’s not only the words, but we want to see the deeds going to the right direction. So not only what they are saying, but also what they are doing,” Kallas said.
“I think the coming weeks and months will show whether it goes to the right direction. And I think then we are also open to discuss next steps,” she said.
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