Germany officially reopened its embassy in Syria on Thursday, a foreign ministry source said, with a small diplomatic team working in Damascus.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock ordered the reopening of the mission which had closed in 2012 amid the Syrian civil war, some three months after the fall of president Bashar al-Assad.
Consular affairs and visas will continue to be handled from the Lebanese capital Beirut in part due to the security situation in Syria, the source added.
"Following the overthrow of dictator Assad, Germany has pledged its support to the Syrian people on their path to a more stable future," the source said.
"Germany has a paramount interest in a stable Syria. We can better contribute to the difficult task of stabilisation on the ground."
The ministry source said that with a presence on the ground, "we can build important diplomatic contacts and thus, among other things, push for an inclusive political transition process that takes into account the interests of all population groups".
"With our diplomats on the ground, we can now also once again engage in important work with civil society. And we can respond directly and immediately to serious negative developments."
German Foreign Minister Warns Syrian Authorities on Security
Germany's foreign minister has warned Syrian authorities to ensure peace and security for all Syrians, two weeks after violent clashes that killed at least 1,500 civilians.
Speaking ahead of a trip to Damascus, outgoing foreign minister Annalena Baerbock said the violence had undermined faith in the Syrian authorities.
"Lots of them (Syrians) are scared that life in the future Syria will not be safe for all Syrians," Baerbock said in a statement.
"The appalling bouts of violence two weeks ago have cost a massive amount of trust."
Baerbock called for Syria's transitional government, which took office after former president Bashar al-Assad fled the country in December, to ensure it controlled the "groups in its own ranks".
She added that it should put those responsible for the violence on trial and ensure peace and prosperity across Syria, which has been scarred by 14 years of civil war.
"This is the mammoth task facing the Syria's transitional government under Ahmed al-Sharaa," she said.
In the days after March 6, Syria's Mediterranean coast was gripped by the worst wave of violence since Assad's overthrow.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, security forces and allied groups killed at least 1,500 civilians, most of them Alawites, the same minority to which former president Assad belongs.
Baerbock said she would use her trip to tell Syria's government that a "fresh start" between Europe and Germany on one side and Syria on the other was conditional on all Syrians enjoying freedom and security regardless of faith, gender or ethnicity.
With AFP
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