The French and German foreign ministers have met Syria’s new leaders and called for an inclusive transition of power, in the first visit by European Union ministers to Syria since the Assad regime fell in December.

During her visit to Damascus, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock outlined clear conditions for European support of Syria's new leadership and emphasized that Germany and the European Union are committed to fostering a peaceful and free future for Syria.

The foreign ministers of France and Germany are headed to Damascus on the first official visit to Syria by top diplomats from European Union countries after the fall of former President Bashar Assad, in what the German minister said is a clear signal that a "new beginning" between Europe and Syria is possible.

Syria's new de facto ruler and leader of the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) received an EU delegation led by German Foreign Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot on Friday.

Germany's top diplomat Annalena Baerbock and her French counterpart met members of Syria's rebel-formed transition government. The pair are the first EU diplomats to visit Syria since Bashar Assad's ouster.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot have visited Syria to initiate negotiations on behalf of the European Union, marking the first visit by EU foreign ministers to the current Syrian government.

Top diplomats from Germany and France went to Damascus on behalf of the European Union. It’s the first such trip in years, part of a flurry of Western outreach.