German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron have agreed to collaborate with Syrian opposition groups that recently assumed control in Damascus. The cooperation, according to a statement from Berlin on Monday, will be guided by “fundamental human rights and the protection of ethnic and religious minorities.”
This decision followed a phone conversation between the French and German leaders on Monday. It comes in the wake of a major turning point in Syria’s history, as rebel forces toppled longtime dictator Bashar Assad on Sunday. This marked the end of a brutal 13-year civil war that claimed the lives of over half a million people.
Western governments are now grappling with how to approach the new leadership in Syria, led primarily by the rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Both the U.S. and the U.K. have labeled HTS as a terrorist organization due to its past affiliations with al Qaeda. However, HTS has sought to shed that image, with its leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani severing ties with al Qaeda in 2016 and attempting to present the group as more moderate in recent years.
The move by Scholz and Macron signals a cautious but significant shift in how Western powers may engage with Syria’s new political reality.













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