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Jean-Noël Barrot and his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock spoke today to Ahmed al-Sharaa, the head of the de-facto Syrian authorities.
The ministers reaffirmed the desire for a peaceful, rigorous transition that represents Syria’s diverse society. The de-facto authorities have committed themselves to broad participation in the transition, and in particular have said women will be part of the preparatory committee for a National Dialogue Conference that will be initiated in the coming days. France and Germany have offered their expertise to support the constitutional work that emerges from the national conference.
The ministers reiterated the necessary safeguarding of collective security interests, which involves continuing the fight against Daesh, but also preventing the spread of the regime’s chemical weapons. They reiterated the need to end fighting in northern Syria and find a solution that protects everyone’s security interests, especially those of our Kurdish partners of the Syrian Democratic Forces, alongside whom we are fighting Daesh. The de facto authorities have pledged to fight terrorism, host an OPCW mission soon and work to protect the Syrian-Lebanese border.
France and Germany have pledged to provide their technical expertise in criminology to promote the fight against impunity for crimes committed by the Assad regime.