The French Foreign Ministry will send a diplomatic mission to Damascus on December 17 for the first time in 12 years, Acting Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on France Inter on Sunday.
According to Barrot, the goal of the four diplomats sent to Syria will be to “restore influence” of France in the country, “establish initial contacts” with the new authorities and “assess the urgent needs of the population” from a humanitarian point of view, Interfax reports.
Following the resignation and flight of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed the end of this “barbaric” regime. It is still unclear how the newly-minted ruler of Syria, the leader of the jihadist organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Abu Muhammad al-Julani, is treated on the Champs Elysees.