The French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, stated on Sunday that it is "essential that no foreign power" takes advantage of the regime change in Damascus to weaken Syria, while his Syrian counterpart began an official visit to Qatar.
"Syria will obviously need help, but it is essential that no foreign power, as Russia and Iran have done for too long, under the pretext of supporting authorities or Syria, weaken it further," Jean-Noël Barrot told private radio RTL.
"The future of Syria belongs to the Syrians. From this point of view, the sovereignty goal expressed both by the transitional authority and by representatives of civil society and the communities we met with is healthy," he added.
Barrot recently returned from Damascus, where he met Friday with his German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock, and the new Syrian leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa.
Syria's foreign minister, Assaad al-Shibani, began an official visit to Qatar on Sunday, his first to the Gulf state since President Bashar al-Assad's ousting nearly a month ago, according to the Syrian news agency.
Qatar was the second country, after Turkey, to officially announce the reopening of its embassy in the Syrian capital since the coalition of armed groups led by the Islamists of HTS (Hayat Tahrir al-Sham) came to power on December 8.
Shibani had stated on Friday that he would also visit the United Arab Emirates and Jordan after his first official trip abroad, this week, to Saudi Arabia.
"Syria needs an economic recovery. We need to consider that Syria's GDP, the wealth produced by the country, has been reduced by five times in ten years. We need to consider that 50% of the infrastructure has been destroyed under Bashar al-Assad's regime," emphasized the French foreign minister.
Regarding international sanctions on Syria, some "are not meant to be lifted, particularly those targeting Bashar al-Assad’s regime and its leaders," he stated.
"Others could be lifted fairly quickly, especially those that hinder the access of humanitarian aid to Syrian populations," he added.
"For the rest, it’s a discussion we have initiated with our European partners, and it will depend on the pace set by the Syrian transitional authorities and the consideration of our interests, particularly security interests."
With AFP
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