BRUSSELS, Belgium: EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas warned Tuesday of the risks of sectarian violence and an extremist resurgence in Syria, as she urged international powers to help a peaceful transition after Bashar Assad’s fall.
“We must avoid a repeat of the horrific scenarios in Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan,” Kallas told a hearing of EU lawmakers.
“It is our role as international partners to accompany the Syrian people in piecing together a shattered society.”
Kallas said there were questions over whether Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), which spearheaded the ouster of Syrian president Bashar Assad and once had root in Al-Qaeda, “had changed.”
The EU’s top diplomat said Assad’s ouster was a “huge blow” for his Russian and Iranian allies.
“They are weakened, distracted and overstretched in other theaters in the broader Middle East and in Ukraine,” she said.
Kallas threw her weight behind United Nations efforts to help steward an “orderly, peaceful and inclusive transition.”
She said that Western nations needed to work with regional players including the Gulf states, Turkiye, Lebanon, Iraq and Israel “to address shared challenges.”
Kallas said Syria needed an “inclusive rebuilding process” that involved minorities as well as women and girls.
The EU was monitoring humanitarian conditions to see if more aid was needed and would help efforts to hold Assad’s government responsible for its crimes, she said.
