Brussels, Jan. 5 (SANA) European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will visit Syria later this week, marking her first trip to the country since the fall of the ousted regime, Chief Spokesperson Paula Pinho said on Monday.
Agence France-Presse quoted Pinho as saying, “Von der Leyen will head to Syria as part of a Middle East tour that also includes Jordan and Lebanon.”
The planned visit follows earlier engagement between Damascus and Brussels. President Ahmad al-Sharaa met von der Leyen on Sept. 24 on the sidelines of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, in the presence of Foreign and Expatriates Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani.
The European Union has said it has stood by the Syrian people across different phases and remains a major financial donor to Syria. In February, the EU suspended key economic sanctions imposed on Syria, and in May lifted them in full in support of recovery efforts. In March, the bloc hosted the ninth Brussels Conference on Syria and, together with member states, pledged 3.4 billion euros to meet significant humanitarian and socio-economic needs inside Syria and across the region.
In a joint statement marking the first anniversary of Syria’s liberation, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas, European Commission Vice President Dubravka Šuica, and EU Commissioner Hadja Lahbib said respect for Syria’s sovereignty, unity, independence and territorial integrity “remains a non-negotiable necessity.”
The statement said the fall of the ousted regime marked the end of “decades of brutal dictatorship” that led to the killing, disappearance and displacement of hundreds of thousands of Syrians and the destruction of large parts of the country, with catastrophic effects on Syria’s social fabric. It added that the historic shift has given Syrians an opportunity to embark on a phase of political, economic and social transition.
