European ministers urge inclusive transition on Syria visit [Video]

The French and German foreign ministers called for a peaceful, inclusive transition in Syria as they visited Damascus Friday for talks with new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa.

France’s Jean-Noel Barrot and his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock are the most senior Western diplomats to visit the Syrian capital since Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad last month.

Baerbock told Sharaa that the European Union stood ready to support the transition in Syria but warned that “Europe will not finance new Islamist structures”.

“This is not only in our own security interests but also what I have heard time and again from very many Syrians in Germany… and here in the region,” she said.

She called for “an inclusive, peaceful transfer of power, reconciliation and reconstruction”.

“This requires a political dialogue involving all ethnic and religious groups, involving men and equally women.”

Barrot later posted that he and Baerbock had made progress …