PARIS: Syria’s foreign minister held candid and fruitful meetings with the US and France on Friday, during which they emphasized the need of securing Syria’s democratic transition, unity, and territorial integrity. Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shibani, French Foreign Minister Jean Noel Barrot, and US Special Envoy for Syria Thomas Barrack met in Paris days after a cease-fire ended violence in Syria’s southern county of Sweida.
Hundreds of people were reported killed in clashes between Druze fighters, Sunni Bedouin tribes, and government forces, and Israel launched airstrikes to prevent what it called “mass killing of Druze. In a joint statement, Syrian, US, and French officials claimed they had held “a very frank and productive meeting at a critical time for Syria.”
Underscoring the necessity of rapidly engaging to secure the success of Syria’s democratic transition following the collapse of President Bashar Assad, they said they had agreed on the need to ensure Syria’s neighbors do not constitute a threat, and Syria does not pose a threat to its neighbors.
Last week’s clashes highlighted the difficulty that interim President Ahmed Al-Sharaa confronts in stabilizing Syria and sustaining centralized government, despite improving relations with the United States and his administration’s expanding security connections with Israel.
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