Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani will be heading to Syria to encourage the transition in the country following the ouster of President Bashar Assad by Islamist insurgents.

The French and German foreign ministers have met Syria’s new leaders and called for an inclusive transition of power, in the first visit by European Union ministers to Syria since the Assad regime fell in December.

So far, Shar’a has talked about pluralism and his wish for inclusivity, but his hands-off diplomacy with Baerbock has raised eyebrows — if nothing else, for raising questions about how women are likely to be treated in post-Assad Syria.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock linked the receipt of financial assistance from the European Union by the new Syrian authorities with the observance of women's rights. The German edition of Der Tagesspiegel writes about this.

Syrians marked Wednesday a month since the ouster of longtime dictator Assad in a lightning offensive by an anti-regime alliance. The alliance, led

The European Union will closely watch the political process developing in Syria and stand by the country if it moves toward a peaceful and open future but it will not back Syria's Islamization, Germany's foreign minister said on Friday.

Annalena Baerbock and Jean-Noël Barrot hope to show a "new beginning" is possible between Europe and Syria.View on euronews

All Syrian groups, including women and Kurds, must be involved in the country's transition if Damascus wants European support, Germany's foreign minister said after a closely-watched first meeting with the new de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa on Friday.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani is travelling to Syria on Friday to encourage the transition in the country following the ouster of President Bashar Assad by Islamist insurgents

The foreign ministers from Germany and France visited the notorious Sednaya prison near Damascus on Friday, a symbol of the brutal rule under deposed Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot were shown the prison at the start of their visit to Syria for talks with the transitional government formed by militant groups that drove al-Assad from the country about four weeks ago.

Germany is pushing the EU to ease sanctions on Syria as western countries seek to build bridges with its new rulers, diplomats said Tuesday.