Spanish foreign minister to visit Lebanon, Syria next week

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

GENEVA (AA) - Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares will embark on a significant diplomatic trip next week to Lebanon and Syria, the Foreign Ministry announced Thursday.

The visit to Lebanon is set to take place just ahead of the expiration of a 60-day cease-fire between Israel and Lebanon. In Syria, Albares will make his first visit following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime last week.

In Beirut, Albares plans to engage in high-level political meetings to address Lebanon’s ongoing challenges and enhance bilateral relations, the ministry said in a statement. He is also scheduled to meet with Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the UN Special Coordinator, and Imran Riza, the Special Humanitarian Coordinator, to discuss the humanitarian situation in the region.

The trip will include a meeting with Gen. Aroldo Lazaro, head of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), and Gen. Joseph Aoun, commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces.

Albares will then travel to Damascus to meet with representatives of the new Syrian administration, ethnic and religious minority leaders, women from civil society, and humanitarian organizations active in the country.

A symbolic visit to Sednaya prison is planned to honor victims of repression under the Assad regime, according to the ministry.

Additionally, Albares will visit the Spanish Embassy in Syria to preside over the raising of Spain’s flag, which has not flown since the departure of the Spanish ambassador in 2012.