EU to send envoy to Damascus

The European Union will be sending a diplomat to talk with the new government, the first such meeting in Syria in years.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has confirmed that the bloc’s envoy was en route to Syria for the first diplomatic talks since member states cut ties with the Assad regime over a decade ago.

ISRAELI AIRSTRIKES TARGET SYRIA’S MISSILE WAREHOUSES

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that Israel has launched its “most violent strikes” in Syria since 2012 on what it says are missile warehouses.

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After decades of hostilities and conflicts over territory, Israel has ramped up its attacks on Syrian military installations after former President Assad and his family dramatically fled to Russia last week.

Israeli troops have seized control of a UN demilitarized buffer zone between Syria and the Israeli occupied Golan Heights.

The Israeli government has denied accusations of taking advantage of the situation to make a major land grab, and of leaving the buffer zone to advance further into Syria.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he had spoken to US President-elect Donald Trump over the phone late on Sunday to reaffirm what he called Israel’s peaceful intentions in the region.

“We have no interest in a conflict with Syria,” Netahyahu said, as Israeli strikes have prompted fears that Israel will continue its attacks in Syria in addition to the fighting against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

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The prime minister added that “we will determine Israeli policy regarding Syria according to the reality on the ground,” saying that the military was targeting Syrian army outposts because the Assad regime had “allowed Iran to arm Hezbollah through its territory.”

For years, Iran supported former President Assad due to religious affinity and to maintain its sphere of influence.

EU SENDS DIPLOMAT FOR TALKS WITH REBEL LEADERS

Kaja Kallas, the new foreign policy chief of the European Union, confirmed that the bloc had sent an envoy to Damascus for talks with the interim government led by rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

The EU’s decision comes after the US and the UK made similar moves over the weekend.

Western allies largely cut diplomatic ties with the regime of former President Bashar Assad over a decade ago following his violent crackdown on pro-democracy protests.

“Our top diplomat in Syria will go to Damascus today. We’ll have the contacts there,” Kallas told journalists ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers.

“We can’t leave a vacuum,” she added, as regional and global powers begin vying for influence over how Syria moves forward.

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At the same time, many Western countries are wary of dealings with the new government due to HTS’ roots as an off-shoot of al-Qaeda in Syria.

“For us, it’s not only the words, but we want to see the deeds going to the right direction. So not only what they are saying, but also what they are doing,” Kallas said of the group’s attempts to soften their image.

“I think the coming weeks and months will show whether it goes to the right direction. And I think then we are also open to discuss next steps,” she added.