German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock will travel to Saudi Arabia on Sunday for an international gathering to discuss the situation in Syria following the ouster of former ruler Bashar al-Assad.
The conference will bring together foreign ministers from a number of countries in the region as well as Western diplomats and United Nations representatives in the Saudi capital Riyadh, according to a spokesman for the German Foreign Office.
The hardline Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and a number of other armed groups waged a rapid offensive in late 2024 that drove al-Assad’s forces from major cities including Aleppo and Damascus, forcing the long-time Syrian dictator to flee the country for Moscow.
HTS is now leading a transitional government, although significant parts of Syrian territory remain outside its power under the control of other armed factions, including Kurdish rebel forces.
The Foreign Office spokesman said that the conference in Riyadh on Sunday will follow-up on discussions at a conference held in mid-December in Aqaba, Jordan.
He noted that Baerbock has presented an eight-point plan for Syria, which calls for a peaceful transition to a political system that grants rights and representation to all groups in Syrian society as well as addressing the atrocious crimes of the al-Assad regime.
During a visit to Syria at the beginning of January, Baerbock and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot sought to set clear conditions for European Union support to the country.
