European approach towards the Syrian Government
On Wednesday, a European diplomatic source revealed the visit of the head of Romanian intelligence to Syria, where he met with prominent security figures there.
The source, who preferred to remain anonymous, explained that the head of Romanian intelligence was carrying with him a joint message from his country, as well as from Cyprus, Greece, and Italy, expressing the interest of these countries in reestablishing contact with the Syrian government, given their concern about the influx of refugees and fears related to terrorism.
The source indicated that these countries have become fully convinced that they no longer have any other choice but to communicate with the Syrian leadership.
The exact date of the visit was not determined, but it took place during the last days.
It should be noted that this isn’t the first time that European countries have talked about attempts to re-establish contact with Damascus outside the framework of the European institution, which still maintains its position against the Syrian government and adopted European Union Resolution 2254.
Two years ago, the Foreign Policy magazine revealed disagreements within the European Union regarding policy towards Syria, indicating that there are changes taking place behind the scenes.
The Foreign Policy reported that the governments of several European countries, including Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Hungary, Austria and Poland, have changed their positions within the European Union to press for a change in policy lines and call for changing policies to be in line with Syrian interests.
In addition, some of these countries have also formed groups of experts to exchange ideas on new ways to deal with and support European sanctions imposed on the Syrian government.
Last week, Danish Immigration Minister Kaare Dybvad and Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan expressed their support for a Cypriot initiative to re-evaluate “safe zones” in Syria to return refugees to.
The Cypriot Interior Minister, Konstantinos Ioannou, confirmed that the Danish and Czech ministers expressed their desire to form a group of European member states to address migration outside the European Union, with a particular focus on Syria, and this group will present its proposals to the European Commission.
In December 2023, Cyprus called on the European Union to classify some areas in Syria as safe areas to return Syrian refugees to.
In February of the same year, Greece proposed to the United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen to hold a series of discussions on Syria in Greece for accredited ambassadors and envoys.
