Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani is hosting a meeting of foreign ministers from the United States, France, Germany and UK in Rome today to discuss developments in Syria, although Turkey, which is seen as one of the major players in Syria following the ouster of Bashar al-Assad, is absent.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief will also attend the two-hour meeting at Villa Madama to discuss Syria, Italy’s foreign ministry said in a press statement on Tuesday.
Turkey, seen as key player in Syria’s political transition, was not invited to the meeting. The NATO ally shares a border with Syria and has been deeply involved in the country’s 13-year conflict, hosting around 3 million Syrian refugees, the largest number in the world.
The meeting will focus on coordinating efforts to assist Syria in facing the huge challenges of the Syrian provisional government and Syrian society, in the post Assad transition.
According to the EU press release, the EU will reaffirm the importance of an effective and efficient inclusiveness, the protection of minorities, the rule of law, accountability, justice and the territorial integrity of Syria as essential condition for reconciliation and for sustained peace in the country. “EU remains ready to support a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned process, with the support of the United Nations,” the press release says.
The meeting comes as international tensions ease toward Syria’s new administration led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammad al-Jolani. Al-Sharaa heads Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a Salafi jihadist group that both the European Union and United States have designated as a terrorist organization.
The US removed its $10 million reward for al-Jolani’s arrest on December 20 following meetings between US diplomats and HTS representatives.
While Turkey was not invited to the meeting in Rome, US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs John Bass is visiting Ankara today for two days of talks, according to a statement from the US Department of State.
Bass will meet with Deputy Foreign Ministers Nuh Yılmaz and Burhanettin Duran to discuss bilateral relations and regional developments, particularly Syria.
Durin his visit Bass will emphasize the importance of a peaceful, inclusive, Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political transition in the spirit of UN Security Council Resolution 2254, according to the statement. He will also participate in meetings on the importance of regional stability, preventing Syria from being used as a base for terrorism and ensuring the enduring defeat of Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
Turkey threatened this week to launch a military operation against US-allied Kurdish forces in Syria, which it sees as terrorist groups, unless they accept Ankara’s conditions for a “bloodless” transition after the fall of al-Assad.