00:00Syria is in the spotlight this week with Damascus holding high-level political talks with the European Union here in
00:06Brussels.
00:06In an exclusive sit-down with Euronews, Syria's foreign minister said the country will not allow a, quote,
00:13rushed, unorganised return of Syrian citizens from Europe.
00:17Minister Assad Hassan al-Shaibani called on the European Union to support the reconstruction of his country after the brutal
00:24civil war.
00:25Our European editor Maria Tadeo sat down with the minister and is here on set this morning to bring us
00:30up to speed.
00:31First, tell us about these talks in Brussels.
00:33Well, Maeve, the talks obviously come at a pivotal moment for Syria.
00:37This is a country that is clearly in a political transition, is coming off of two very difficult decades,
00:44completely turbulent on a political front, a civil war that lasted almost 14 years, very brutal.
00:50Obviously, that also led to a massive wave of Syrians who left the country, many of which, of course, ended
00:58up in Europe.
01:00The authorities now in Syria, led by President al-Sharab, they argue that this is a moment to rebuild, reconstruct,
01:08and make this country more stable.
01:11They have, of course, reached out to the United States.
01:13They are in close ties with Turkey, the Gulf countries, but another key partner in this, and they say this
01:19openly, this came up multiple times in my interview with the foreign minister, is the European Union.
01:24At this stage, as it stands, the European Union has lifted sanctions on Syria to give the economy a breather.
01:30It also is now moving into the full implementation of a cooperation agreement between the two countries.
01:36Obviously, the goal, again, is for the EU to play what they argue would be a stabilizer role in the
01:42country.
01:43And for Syria, it's about rebuilding the economy, so you have conditions for people to return and get this country
01:49back on track to the extent that it's possible in the shortest amount of time.
01:53Now, the EU, however, will say to fully restore ties with Syria.
01:57The authorities, the government there, needs to ensure that the minorities, both religious and ethnic, are respected, and they have
02:04equal rights.
02:05This principle of inclusivity is incredibly important for Brussels.
02:08So the message that was stressed to the Syrians, as I'm told by a number of diplomats, is that, yes,
02:13there is a window of opportunity.
02:14The EU wants to see a partnership that could see this country finally becoming stable in the Middle East.
02:20They also see it as a way to counter what they describe are malign actors, including Russia, of course, Assad
02:25fled to Moscow immediately after his fall.
02:28But they also insist this principle of inclusivity is incredibly important for the European Union to move ahead.
02:34And the issue, of course, of migration played a big role as well in these talks.
02:37Well, this is absolutely a huge topic as it stands, because not just when you look at it through the
02:43prism of the EU, but really European governments,
02:46we are seeing that the political landscape in Europe is changing.
02:49Obviously, the discourse around migration, asylum rules, and refugee status, which are three different things, to some extent, is certainly
02:57much tougher.
02:58It has really hardened Germany, which is a country that took in the highest number of Syrians,
03:03has now completely changed its narrative from we will manage dealing with almost one million people who arrived in Germany
03:09to now the chancellor saying we need to accelerate the returns because the war is over and they need to
03:15rebuild this country.
03:16That was a question that I put to Syria's Foreign Minister Al-Shabani, and he told me, yes, they agree
03:21there is a need to rebuild the country, but it will not be chaotic.
03:25Syria has not committed to a specific number of people returning to the country.
03:29Let's take a look.
03:32There was no agreement on this matter, and there was no agreement on the number of Syrians to return to
03:38Syria.
03:38There has been talks about Syrian refugees in Europe and in Germany in particular, and there are talks and an
03:44agreement on a mechanism that will not hinder the process of reconstruction in Syria today.
03:49This is another thing I do not agree with, especially since today European countries no longer accept granting asylum to
03:55those who leave Syria,
03:56especially since today they believe that the situation in Syria evolved with a secure and stable law.
04:01However, we have warned against this matter that imposing an involuntary and undignified return of Syrians will lead to chaos
04:09in Syria and that the situation in Syria needs to create an appropriate environment.
04:13There will be a monasim.
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