Foreign ministers from France and Germany have met in Damascus with Syria's de facto leader to discuss the future of the country. Also on the programme, the Republican Congressman Mike Johnson has narrowly won re-election to the most powerful seat in the US House of Representatives; and do whales mourn the dead? (Photo: Head of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and Syria's de facto leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani meets with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot in Damascus, Syria January 3, 2025. Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham/Handout via REUTERS)
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Hello and welcome to Newser from the BBC World Service, coming to you live from our studios in central London.
I'm Julian Marshall and we begin today in Syria where a high level European Union delegation has been laying out its expectations of the country's new rulers.
The foreign ministers of Germany and France, Annalena Baerbock and Jean Noel Barrot, are the most senior Western diplomats to visit Damascus since Islamist led forces overthrew President Assad.
And while there, they held lengthy talks with Ahmed Al Shara, now Syria's new ruler, after his Islamist group HTS led the offensive that toppled Assad.
Ahead of the talks, the ministers visited Syria's notorious Hitnaya prison where thousands of opponents of Assad were detained, tortured and killed.
Mr.
Barrot spoke to reporters.
We were struck in our souls by the barbarism that we discovered in the concentration camp hell of the Sednaya prison.
There cannot be a moral recovery for Syria unless justice is served.
And for this we proposed to the transition authorities that France's technical expertise can contribute to the fight against impunity and to the transitional justice system.
And after the meeting with Mr.
Al Sharra, Ms.
Baerbock said that Europe was prepared to support Syria but would not support new Islamist structures.
And she outlined the kind of Syria that Europe wanted to see better future.
For Syria means an inclusive, peaceful transfer of power, reconciliation and reconstruction.
This requires a political dialogue involving all.
Ethnic and religious group, involving men and equally women.
They all must be involved in the.
Constitutional process and in a future Syrian government.