Syrian president meets German foreign minister in Damascus

By Liath Al-Jnaidi and Mohammad Sio

DAMASCUS (AA) – Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa met in Damascus on Thursday with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and European Parliament member Armin Laschet.

A presidency statement did not provide details about the content of the meeting, which came shortly after Germany announced the reopening of its embassy in Damascus after a 13-year closure.

This was the second visit by the German foreign minister to Syria since the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in December. Baerbock’s first visit was in January.

Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia after anti-regime groups took control of Damascus on Dec. 8, ending the Baath Party regime, which had been in power since 1963.

Sharaa, who led anti-regime forces to oust Assad, was declared president for a transitional period in late January.