EU's Syria office to become fully operational again

The European Union will reopen its delegation in Syria, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has said.

While the EU delegation, which is like an embassy, in Syria was never officially closed, there had not been an accredited ambassador in Damascus during the war in Syria, Kallas said.

"We want this delegation to be fully operational again," Kallas said in European Parliament on Tuesday.

Kallas said she had asked the EU's delegation head to go to Damascus on Monday to establish contact with the new leadership in Syria and various other groups.

Germany, the United States and Britain had earlier already established contact with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) after it led the overthrow of Syria's Bashar al Assad.

Humanitarian aid

The European Union’s operational expertise in delivering humanitarian aid to areas of Syria’s Idlib province controlled by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group is a key asset in scaling up its support for Syria during a critical period of transition, an EU official said earlier.

"We are scaling up our humanitarian aid. The EU has experience operating under HTS-controlled areas in Idlib. Now we can build on this experience," European Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib said on X.

"The EU stands with all Syrians. All Syrians deserve peace after decades of war and violence," she added.

Bashar Assad, who ruled Syria with an iron fist for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia on Dec. 8 after anti-regime groups seized control of the capital Damascus