Berlin (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said that Germany is pledging additional 300 million euros in aid for Syrians via the United Nations and select organisations. She announced ahead of an EU-led donor conference in Brussels.
Baerbock expressed that more than half of the funding provided will benefit the people in Syria, which will be executed without the transitional government in the country. The funds will go towards offering food, health services and emergency shelters, as well as protective steps for the especially vulnerable, according to the foreign ministry.
Syrian refugees and host communities in Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Turkey will also acquire the support, she also said.
Baerbock repeated the necessity for an inclusive political strategy to ensure a peaceful future for Syria.
“As Europeans, we stand together for the people of Syria, for a free and peaceful Syria,”
She stated.
German Foreign Minister also called for the transitional government to probe the killing of hundreds of civilians in Alawite villages and hold those accountable. Several days of fierce conflicts in Syria’s coastal region this month brought loyalists of ousted President Bashar al-Assad against the country’s new Islamist sovereigns.
How does Baerbock envision a peaceful future for Syria?
Two months ago, at the start of 2025, the German foreign minister met Syria’s new de facto rulers in Damascus, which was the first trip by a top European officeholder to the nation since the collapse of former president Bashar al-Assad.
Germany’s Annalena Baerbock held discussions with Syria’s de-facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Julani, in the Syrian capital. Her visit coincides with as Western governments open tracks with al-Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
“A political solution must be reached with France’s allies, the Kurds, so that they are fully integrated into this political process that is beginning today,”
Barrot stated after speaking with civil society representatives in Syria.
Following his meeting with the new Syrian administration, Baerbock stated:
“In our talks today we made clear Europe will support [Syria] but Europe will not be a financier of Islamist structures.”
“Ethnic and religious groups involving men as well as women … must be involved in the constitutional process and in a future Syrian government,”
She also said.
