MADRID Jan. 11 () –
The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Policy, Kaja Kallas, will travel to Riyadh this Sunday to discuss the situation in Syria after the fall of President Bashar al Assad’s regime.
“The Riyadh meeting takes place after the Quintet meeting on January 9-10 and the Aqaba meeting on December 14 on the current situation in Syria after the fall of the Bashar al Assad regime,” explained the office of Kallas in a note.
The meeting in the Saudi capital will serve to “coordinate efforts to help Syria face the enormous challenges that lie ahead for the provisional government and Syrian society in the post-Al Assad transition.”
“The EU will reaffirm the importance of effective and efficient inclusion, the protection of minorities, the rule of law, accountability, justice and the territorial integrity of Syria as an essential condition for reconciliation and for a sustainable peace,” he argued.
Last Friday, Kallas herself proposed to EU members a “gradual relief” of the sanctions against Syria if there is “tangible progress” for the democratic transition.
This message comes in parallel to the preliminary document put on the table by Germany for a new EU approach towards Damascus that involves gradually withdrawing economic, financial and transport sanctions, in addition to promoting rapprochement with the new authorities, raising that the United Nations lift sanctions against the jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS), which heads the transitional authorities.
Regarding the situation of HTS, which is currently considered a terrorist organization by the EU and is sanctioned by the United Nations for its relationship with Al Qaeda, Germany defends “the possible exclusion from the list” of those sanctioned by the UN, and although points out that this decision depends on the UN Security Council, urges to address the issue and carry out a “joint evaluation” of HTS and its leader and current strongman of Syria, Ahmed al Shara, alias ‘Abú Mohamed al Golani’.
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