European ministers visit Syria to strengthen ties with new government
Syria's new leaders met with French and German foreign ministers in the capital Damascus on Friday, in one of the highest-level Western diplomatic visits since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad last month.German Annalena Baerbock and her French counterpart, Jean-Noël Barrot, arrived in Damascus on the first such trip in years on behalf of the European Union, as world powers began building ties with Hayat Tahrir al- Sham, the Islamic group that leads the new Syrian government.Ms Baerbock and Mr Barrot met Ahmad al-Shara, the group's leader, after visiting the infamous Sednaya prison, where the al-Assad regime had tortured and killed thousands of inmates.“We travel to Damascus today to offer our support, but also with clear expectations of the new rulers,” Ms. Baerbock said in a statemen...