ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The foreign ministers of France and Germany arrived in Damascus on Friday morning for talks with de facto Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa. They also visited Christian leaders and Sednaya prison, expressing support for a peaceful transition in Syria. “Foreign Minister Baerbock is travelling to Damascus this morning for a one-day trip. Together with her French counterpart Barrot and on behalf of the European Union, she will hold talks with Ahmed al-Sharaa and meet representatives of Syrian civil society,” read a statement from the German foreign ministry. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock will also be accompanied by the German Special Coordinator for Syria, Minister of State Tobias Lindner, the statement added. Sharaa, better known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, is the head of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which led a coalition of rebel groups that ousted the former regime and installed a transitional government. HTS has Islamic jihadist roots and there are concerns about how that ideology will be reflected in the new Syria, especially among the country’s minority populations. Sharaa has repeatedly promised that the rights of all people in Syria will be protected. Baerbock said they will “judge HTS by its actions.” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said he and his German counterpart “stand with the Syrian people, in all their diversity.” “In Syria, we want to promote a peaceful and demanding transition in the service of the Syrians and for regional stability,” he said in a post on X. Barrot visited the French embassy building and met with Christian religious leaders in Damascus. The number of Christians in Syria has significantly dwindled since the start of the civil war over a decade ago. The two ministers also visited Sednaya prison north of the capital. Dubbed a "human slaughterhouse," it was a military prison and death camp constructed in 1986, on the orders of then-Syrian President Hafez al-Assad. Thousands of people were tortured and killed at the site. Updated at 1:50 pm
