Brussels receives Syrian Foreign Minister for conversations about the country’s political and economic transition

Syrian Foreign Minister Ashibani Ashibani will participate in the EU annual conference on Syria, which takes place this Monday in Brussels, the first since the inauguration of the Transition Government in Damascus, after the overthrow of the Al-Assad regime in December.

The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas and the EU foreign ministers participate in the conversations, which will focus on the political transition, economic recovery and Syrian reconstruction after 14 years of civil war.

The block hopes to reveal additional financing to support the country when “it becomes a page in its history,” said a high EU employee, added that it is considered a potential role for the European Investment Bank (BEI) in the reconstruction of Syria.

The official also declared that with the Syrians who face a “hard reality”, including the shortage of electricity and water, as well as extreme humanitarian needs, there is fear that the freezing of help from the United States can exacerbate the crisis and that European donors and other international donors can have to close the gap.

Brussels has expressed its support for the efforts of the real authorities to make the transition from Syria to a stable future.

Last month, the block raised a series of sanctions On key industries such as energy, transport and financial sectors, in an attempt to help the economic recovery and reconstruction of the country devastated by war.

The EU also satisfies the measures taken by the interim government to ensure that all layers of Syrian society are represented in the transition, namely, through an agreement last week with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) led by the Kurds, which control the northeast of the country, rich in natural resources, to be integrated into government forces.

But a high diplomat of the EU declared that the eruption of sectarian violence earlier this month in the coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus, support bastions to former dictator Bashar al-Assad, was a “strong warning of fragility and complexity of this transition.”

The armed groups linked to the Sunni Islamic government carried out the extrajudicial death of 803 people in response to the attacks of the remains of the Al-Assad forces, second A war observatory last week. Other reports estimate the number of deaths in 1,200.

The UN verified 111 of these deaths and states that “whole families” were killed in what seem to be sectarian executions in the predominantly predominant areas of Alauitas.

The interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, promised to create an independent commission to investigate the murders and the EU appealed to a “rapid, transparent and impartial research.

Another EU Alta employee described events such as “a horrible sectarian violence aimed at a specific community in coastal areas” and requested “research and preventive measures.”

The situation left Brussels in a delicate situation, between the statements of support to the transition under al-Sharaa and a growing sensation of nervousness because recent instability can trigger a new spiral of violence.

The main rebel group that demolished Al-Assad under the leadership of Al-Sharaa, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), remains a terrorist organization for the EU.

You want to play a role in the transition

The conference should allow the EU to make a new financial commitment to Syria, which, according to an EU employee, should be equivalent to 2.12 billion euros authorized at last year’s conference.

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Abe’s role in the reconstruction of the country, which, according to estimates, could cost between 230 and 370 billion euros, is also on the table.

“We also hope that the countries of the region, including the Gulf region, can advance a little more in the economic aspect,” said an EU employee. The countries of the region are already participating: Qatar has begun to provide natural gas to Syria through Jordan to solve the problem of lack of electricity in the country.

Although the EU has already taken its first steps to support Syria’s economic recovery with the sanctions survey, the United States has not yet followed the example.

Such decision of the Trump administration would be “huge” in terms of relieving the pressure on the Syrian economy, said an EU employee, but added that the initial survey of EU sanctions is already creating perspectives for European companies to return and invest in Syria.

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The Syrian diaspora in Europe and the possibility of her return will also be on the table.

The EU Member States have already reflected how Syrians in Europe can support their desire to return to their country, namely, through recognition visits that allow Syrias to evaluate the situation in their country of origin without losing their state of protection.

A Unur recent survey revealed that 27% of Syrians looking for refuge outside the country now express the desire to return home next year. Before the regime’s drop, this value was 2%.