Political analyst points to degradation of European diplomacy

The European Union (EU) prioritizes discussing Russia's military presence in Syria over the internal problems of the association, which demonstrates the degradation of European diplomacy. This was stated by Andrei Kortunov, scientific director of the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC), during a roundtable discussion on "The Middle East: Results of 2024" at Izvestia on December 27.

He recalled the statement of the head of European diplomacy Kaya Kallas, who called the withdrawal of Russian bases from the country's territory a condition for dialog with the new Syrian authorities.

"This sounds, as it seems to me, a little paradoxical. The European Union should have a lot of other questions to Syria: this is the issue of Syrian migrants in the EU countries, and the issue of human rights," the speaker said.

However, Kallas chose instead of this agenda to speak exclusively about the Russian military presence, which speaks about the quality of European diplomacy, he summarized.

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On the eve, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov declared Russia's interest in dialog with Syria on regional issues. He explained that the Russian embassy in Syria continues to work, and also stated that Moscow maintains contacts with the new authorities of the country.

Prior to that, on December 19, Russian President Vladimir Putin noted during the "Results of the Year" that Russia has now offered to use its bases in Syria to deliver humanitarian aid to the country.

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. The National Coalition of Revolutionary and Opposition Forces of Syria said it was working on the formation of a transitional authority. The country is expected to hold a referendum.

The situation in Syria escalated as a result of a major attack by armed groups in Aleppo and Idlib, which began on November 28 and led to a response by the Syrian army.