BERLIN/DAMASKUS (Own report) - The federal government is a leading part in the race of the Western powers for the greatest possible influence on the new government of Syria installed by Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS). Yesterday, Tuesday, German diplomats met with government representatives in Damascus for the first time. Earlier, another German diplomat had already arrived in Syria's capital on behalf of the EU for talks. According to Development Minister Svenja Schulze, Germany has always provided funds for the Syrian governorate of Idlib, which is controlled by HTS in recent years, and therefore has the best contacts: "We know many actors who are important now". Meanwhile, the EU foreign affairs representative Kaja Kallas reiterates that a central demand of the EU to Syria is to "get rid of Russian influence". This applies in particular to the two Russian military bases in Syria. Meanwhile, HTS leader Ahmed al Sharaa says that early elections are "a bit far-fetched". In Syria, on the other hand, "mores" that are not explained in detail would have to be respected in the future; the country should again be "natural Syria".
German diplomats have held initial talks with representatives of the new Syrian government in Damascus. Under the leadership of the Middle East Commissioner in the Federal Foreign Office, Tobias Tunkel, a four-member delegation visited the Syrian capital for this purpose yesterday, Tuesday. A meeting with the de facto foreign minister of the transitional government says that it has "gone well". 1] Tunkel also met with the leader of Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS), Ahmed al Sharaa (Abu Muhammad al Julani). HTS has installed the transitional government. The focus was on "the political transition process in Syria and expectations with regard to the protection of minorities and women's rights", it is reported. As can be heard, preparations are already being made to reopen the German embassy in Damascus. 2] Already on Monday, the German diplomat Michael Ohnmacht had also arrived in Damascus in his function as head of the EU delegation for Syria; he had also held talks there with the de facto foreign minister, among others.
According to its own statement, the Federal Government is starting well prepared in the attempt to shape the reconstruction of Syria and at the same time to gain leading influence on the country. According to the Federal Ministry of Development, partials of the total of 125 million euros, with which non-governmental organizations and UN projects in Syria were supported this year, also went to the province of Idlib, which is controlled by HTS. This apparently created sustainable relations: "We have the contacts, we know many actors who are important now," Federal Development Minister Svenja Schulze announced last week. Her ministry had in fact "prepared for this moment for thirteen years". 3] With a view to the future, the Minister said: "The development of state structures is our core business." Schulze justifies that Berlin, with its support for Idlib, stabilized the rule of jihadists with the claim that they could have had influenced. If, for example, HTS wanted to introduce "a moral law with gender separation in public space", they threatened to discontinue the aid, whereupon HTS withdrew the law. Schulze did not mention that in Idlib, while Berlin supported the region, there was no suffrage for women and no civil rights for non-Sunnis, while HTS opponents were tortured and murdered [4].
One of the first goals that Berlin and Brussels seek to achieve in the interim government in Damascus is to close Russia's military bases in Syria – the naval base in Tartus and the Hmeimim air base near Latakia – as soon as possible. The new EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas declared on Monday after a meeting of the EU foreign ministers that "many" of them had demanded that it should be "a condition for the new leadership" in Syria to "get rid of Russian influence". "Russia and Iran should have no place in Syria's future," Kallas demanded. The Foreign Minister of the Netherlands, Caspar Veldkamp, told journalists: "We want the Russians out." 6] The Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares stated that the EU had "red lines" that must be preserved; this includes - Albares coined this on Russia - "that there is no external interference". 7] The Spanish Foreign Minister did not explain why it should not be an interference to dictate to Syria the choice of its external cooperation partners. In return, he said that the EU would use the existing sanctions against Syria as a means of pressure to enforce its demands: Only if the latter were "correctly" met could there be talks about a lifting of the economic coercive measures that have caused Syria's serious damage (german-foreign-policy.com reported [8]).
The great race of the Western powers for immediate influence on the new government installed by HTS has already begun in Damascus at the weekend. On Saturday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the United States had made "direct" contact with HTS. On Sunday, Great Britain's Foreign Minister David Lammy announced that his country was also in "diplomatic contact" with the organization. 9] On Monday, photos were distributed, showing HTS leader Al Sharaa, among others, alongside the British Special Representative for Syria, Ann Snow. 10] Yesterday, Tuesday, a four-member French delegation led by the Paris Special Envoy for Syria, Jean-François Guillaume, also met with a representative of the Syrian Transitional Government. 11] Italy is present in Damascus anyway; it had already reopened its embassy in Syria in the summer. In addition, frenetic diplomatic activities continue in Syria's neighbouring countries. For example, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrived in Jordan on Monday and yesterday in Turkey for talks about the situation in Damascus. On Saturday, representatives of some Arab states, the USA and Turkey, as well as the EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, met in Jordanian Aqaba. 12]
Meanwhile, the first cautious contours are emerging from the direction in which Syria is to develop, according to HTS leader Al Sharaa. The idea of holding elections in the near future is "a bit far-fetched," Al Sharaa said in a recent interview with the London Times. 13] First, the Syrian refugees from Turkey and the EU must be returned and the country should be rebuilt; then "committees" should be set up to plan the transition period and write a constitution. This is a long process. With regard to the question of whether a particularly restrictive interpretation of Sharia should regulate everyday life in Syria in the future, Al Sharaa explained that he did not think that there would be "deep interference with personal freedoms"; but it is to be expected that "morals" would be taken into account. Syria will be "natural Syria" in the future. Al Sharaa did not explain which "mans" could be considered "natural".
However, he made it clear that Syria under the leadership of the HTS does not intend to subordinate itself unconditionally to the West. With regard to the ongoing illegal shelling of Syrian infrastructure and the equally illegal occupation of Syrian territory by Israel, Al Sharaa stated that the presence of Hezbollah and Iranian militias in Syria had been used as justification for this. With the withdrawal of both, "this justification has disappeared"; therefore "the attacks must stop, and Israel must withdraw to its previous positions". 14] "We don't want a conflict with Israel," the HTS leader added. He also demanded that Western states must immediately lift their sanctions against Syria. They have finally turned against the government of Bashar al Assad, which has now fallen. "This is not a bargain," Al Sharaa warned. This is already the first conflict with the EU, which intends to use a possible lifting of the sanctions as a means of political pressure against the Syrian transitional government.
[1] Talks with the new rulers in Damascus. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 17.12.2024.
[2] Julian Röpcke, Nikolaus Harbusch: bild.de 17.12.2024.
[3] What next with German development policy? tagesschau.de 11.12.2024.
[4] Aaron Y. Zelin: The Age of Political Jihadism. A Study of Hayat Tahrir al Sham. The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Washington, May 2022. S. on upheavals in Syria (II).
[5] Russia Has No Place In Syria After Assad Fall: EU's Kallas. barrons.com 16.12.2024.
[6], [7] Lorne Cook: EU seeks assurances from Syria's new leaders in exchange for dropping sanctions. apnews.com 16.12.2024.
[8] S. Hope for the hunger revolt and sanctions against emergency aid.
[9] UK in diplomatic contact with Syrian rebels, says Lammy. bbc.co.uk 15.12.2024.
[10] Kathryn Armstrong: UK diplomats meet rebel leader in Damascus. bbc.co.uk 17.12.2024.
[11] Paris demande au nouveau pouvoir syrien de poursuivre la lutte contre l'EI.lemonde.fr 17.12.2024.
[12] Eight Arab countries vow to support 'peaceful transition process' in Syria. aljazeera.com 14.12.2024.
[13], [14] Samer Al-Atrush: Jolani: Syria won't be used as a launchpad for attacks on Israel. thetimes.com 16.12.2024.