Baerbock in Damascus: Germany is back in Syria after 13 years

A good three months after the fall of the long-term ruler Bashar al-Assad, Germany has another address in Syria: after 13 years of vacancy due to the Syrian civil war, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock put the German embassy in Damascus back into operation during a one-day short visit. Four German diplomats should now participate in the stabilization and the reconstruction of the heavily destroyed country on site.

Baerbock wants a new beginning with Syria

Baerbock had promised the Syrians, before their arrival in Damascus, persistent humanitarian aid and a further loosening of sanctions – but only under conditions. “A new political beginning between Europe and Syria, between Germany and Syria is possible,” said the outgoing minister. “But this is also associated with clear expectations that freedom, security and opportunities in Syria apply to all people – for women and men, for members of all ethnic groups and religions.”

In December, the Syrian long-term ruler Bashar al-Assad was overthrown after almost 14 years of civil war by a rebel alliance led by the Islamist group Halat Tahrir al-Scham (HTS). Now the country is led by a transitional government around President Ahmed al-Sharaa, from which one does not yet know where it is controlled. Just two weeks ago, a military campaign against Assad supporters in the coastal region in the northwest of the country had caused new distrust with hundreds of dead – including many civilians.

The atrocities are dramatic and made it clear “how much the country is on knife cutting edge,” said Baerbock. Germany has “an outstanding interest in stable Syria”. You want to support the political process there – for this you need your own employees “as eyes and ears on site”. “Having a message also means being able to set messages,” she said.

A Syrian caretaker held the position

In the German embassy in Damascus, 25 to 30 sent diplomats and around 20 local employees used to work. It was a medium -sized representation abroad. In 2012 it was closed for security reasons and has been empty since then. When Baerbock visited the building on the first visit to Damascus after the fall of Assad in January, a picture of the former Federal President Christian Wulff (term 2010 to 2012) was still on the wall.

In recent years, the Syrian caretaker Amer Nahas has taken care of the building, which has been working for the message for 26 years. He handed over the key to the Greens politician. The representation is now to be directed by the diplomat Stefan Schneck, who then acts as a business authority. Whether there will be an ambassador again in the future “depends on the other political, but of course also security policy developments here,” said Baerbock.

Daily business in a secret place – visa allocation in Beirut

From the Federal Foreign Office it says that with the presence on site, for example, the important contact with civil society can be better maintained and react directly and directly to serious undesirable developments. As in recent years, the issue of Visa should take over the message in Lebanese Beirut.

For security reasons, the previous embassy building can currently only be used for discussions. Baerbock mentioned a bullet hole and possible bugs in the building from the time of vacancy when handing over the keys. The day -to -day business therefore takes place until further notice in another place that is kept secret. It is still open whether the message can be used again at some point.

Violation with hundreds of dead two weeks ago

This also depends on the further development of the situation in Syria. The country is far from pacified. At the beginning of the month, armed supporters of the fallen Assad government attacked security forces, to which the transitional government reacted with great military operation. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, around 1,500 people are said to have been killed, a large part of them Alawites – a community of faith that also belongs to Assad. The observers spoke of real “massacres”.

Baerbock met some of those affected in the message. Even before her departure, she called the targeted killing of civilians a “bad crime” and asked the transitional government to hold those responsible for accounting. However, she also demanded that the atrocities are responsible for the work on Assad.

Tour through ruin landscape

Baerbock was able to visit what the Assad government in Damascus caused during the civil war during a tour of the Dschubar district. In the former rebel stronghold, in which the uprising against the long -term ruler in the capital began in 2011, 380,000 people once lived. Now it is a dumped ruin landscape.

It affects him “like Germany after World War II,” said CDU politician Armin Laschet, who accompanied Baerbock during her visit. “But people have hope that there will be a reconstruction.” Germany has to help.

One of the few who have stayed in Jubar is the cemetery attendant Mahmud Abu Fahand, the Baerbock and Laschet led through the debris from Jobar. “We can rebuild all of this, but we don’t get our children back,” he said. He praised the new president as the hope of his country.

Again no handshake from the temporary president for Baerbock

Baerbock is still skeptical. It is also unclear where al-Sharaa controls his country. Before his interim presidency, he led the Islamist rebel group HTS, which emerged from the Al-Nusra front, an offshoot of the terror network Al Qaeda. In the meantime, however, he has long said for Al Qaeda and the terrorist organization of Islamic State (IS). However, there is further doubts as to whether he actually has left the extremist ideology completely behind.

Baerbock did not greet Baerbock on her second visit by a handshake. In January, he caused excitement in Germany, critics accused him of women’s hostile behavior. This was mainly due to the fact that the President gave the French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot’s hand at the time, but did not give the German chief diplomat. This time there was neither a handshake with Baerbock nor Laschet.