RIYADH: Foreign ministers and top diplomats from Western and Middle Eastern countries are meeting Syria’s new foreign minister in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Sunday (Jan 12) at the first such regional meeting on Syria since President Bashar al-Assad was ousted last month.
German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock arrived in Riyadh on Sunday morning ahead of the meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan Al-Shibani.
British foreign minister David Lammy was also expected to join the talks, according to a statement issued by the UK Foreign Office.
Foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Türkiye were all in Riyadh for Sunday’s meeting plus envoys from the European Union and the United States. Other top Arab and Western officials are expected to attend.
A lightning rebel offensive overthrew Assad on Dec 8 and rebels Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which led the advance, set up a caretaker government that appointed Shibani as foreign minister.
“Discussions in Riyadh will be Arab-led and focus on the next steps the international community can take to support the interim Syrian authorities, including mechanisms to hold the Assad regime to account for the war crimes they perpetrated against the Syrian people,” the British statement said.
