EU to reopen Syria delegation, increase humanitarian support
Brussels (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The EU will reopen its Syria delegation, increase humanitarian aid, and engage with Syria’s new leadership while addressing security concerns regarding Islamic State resurgence.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the European Union will develop contacts with Syria’s new administration and reopen its delegation in the land.
As reported by Reuter, Commission President Von der Leyen also expressed the European Union would boost humanitarian aid to Syria. But she cautioned of the risk of a resurrection by hardline Islamic State militants and expressed this must not be allowed to occur. The EU representatives which is like an embassy in Syria never officially shut, but there has not been a designated ambassador in Damascus during the fighting in Syria.
We want this delegation to be fully operational again,
Kallas expressed in European Parliament. Kallas stated she had asked the EU’s delegation head to go to Damascus on Monday to develop contact with the new leadership in Syria and various other parties.
Von der Leyen briefed journalists in Ankara after a visit to Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan that the European Union must step up its direct arrangement with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Islamist group which spearheaded the attack which overturned Bashar al-Assad earlier this month.
However, the absence of predictability demands utmost warning. The risk of a Daesh (Islamic State) resurgence, especially in eastern Syria, is real. We cannot let this happen. And Turkey’s legitimate security situations must be addressed,
she said.
Von der Leyen expressed the EU would boost humanitarian aid to Syria and would seek to assist restore basic services like electricity, water and infrastructure.
