Scholz assured of EU assistance in Syria's reconstruction

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday, December 14, assured that Europe will help Syria rebuild.

"It is also important that Syria maintains its sovereignty and territorial integrity as a state. No country can be the backyard of another, stronger country. <...> Ensuring this is the most important task of the new leadership. We will work with it on that basis. Europe will also help with the reconstruction," he said in an address published on his X page.

He noted, however, that there are currently hundreds of thousands of Syrians living in the FRG. According to him, those individuals who have successfully integrated into society can safely stay in Germany.

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Earlier, on December 11, French MP Thierry Mariani told Izvestia that the situation in Syria is likely to become one of the topics of discussion at the plenary session of the European Parliament, which will begin on December 16. He called the Europeans naive, thinking that the new Syrian crisis will not cause an influx of Islamists into Europe.

Before that, on December 5, Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova said that 130 children who have confirmed relatives in Russia are ready to return to Russia from Syria. According to her, the commissioner's office has received more than a thousand requests from relatives who are searching for their children in the Arab Republic.

The Russian Foreign Ministry reported on December 8 that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, after negotiations with the opposition, left the post of head of state and left the country, instructing to carry out the transfer of power peacefully. On the same day, the national coalition of revolutionary and opposition forces of Syria announced the work on the formation of a transitional authority. In turn, Prime Minister Mohammed Ghazi al-Jalali said that most of the ministers of the Syrian government remain in Damascus, and he himself is ready to cooperate with any elected leadership.

Against this backdrop, the IDF announced the deployment of forces along the Syrian border to ensure the safety of Israeli citizens and communities in the Golan Heights. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the demarcation agreement with Syria has been terminated due to the withdrawal of Syrian troops.

The situation in Syria escalated following a major attack by militias in Aleppo and Idlib that began on November 28 and led to a Syrian army response against the militants.