European Union involvement in Syria

This handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows Syria’s new leader and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) chief Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) receiving Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani in Damascus.
The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission, Kaja Kallas, ended a two day visit to Rome on Friday.

The EU has been discussing how to be involved in Syria after the fall of the government in Damascus.
In mid-December, the European Union opted to directly engage with the interim government set up by HTS, signaling the bloc’s willingness to begin normalizing ties with Syria’s new leaders.

There are legitimate concerns about the risks of sectarian violence, extremist resurgence and the governance vacuum. It is crucial to preserve the territorial integrity of Syria and to respect its independence, its sovereignty.

It is important that Syria is not turned into a place for meddling in the country’s internal affairs, one day by Israel, the next day by Turkey or the US.