Europe may move faster. On January 3rd the French and German foreign ministers met Ahmad al-Sharaa, Syria’s de facto ruler, in Damascus. Annalena Baerbock, the German foreign minister, said it was premature to lift sanctions. In private, though, German diplomats are circulating a proposal which would do just that.

When Green foreign minister Annalena Baerbock presented her “Guidelines for a Feminist Foreign Policy” in March 2023, we wrote that this project, as absurd as it is reactionary, was “ultimately about enforcing geostrategic and economic interests.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who is travelling to the Syrian capital Damascus on Friday on an unannounced visit, is setting conditions for Syria's new de facto rulers for a resumption of relations with Germany and the European Union.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani is travelling to Syria on Friday to encourage the transition in the country following the ouster of President Bashar Assad by Islamist insurgents.

During her visit to Damascus, images of German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock were shared by the Syrian Telegram channel Almharar, linked to Islamist group HTS.

The call, combined with various promises of economic and constitutional support to the Islamist regime led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a former al-Qaida affiliate, demonstrates how the imperialist powers intend to use Syria’s regime change to step up their war on Russia and prepare an all-out conflict with Iran.

The visit by European ministers symbolizes a significant shift in international diplomacy following years of strained relations between Europe and Syria.

Berlin on Monday advocated a pragmatic approach to Syria's transitional government after the new leader in Damascus declined to shake the hand of visiting German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.

The French and German foreign ministers have met Syria’s new leaders and called for an inclusive transition of power, in the first visit by European Union ministers to Syria since the Assad regime fell in December.

Syria’s new foreign minister has met with his Qatari counterpart and Qatar’s prime minister in Doha on Sunday.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Rome Thursday for talks with European counterparts on bringing stability to Syria in the face of Turkish threats against Kurdish forces there.A war monitor said that battles between Turkish-backed groups supported by air strikes and Kurdish-led forces had killed 37 people Thursday.