{"id":2511052,"date":"2025-11-15T17:28:58","date_gmt":"2025-11-15T22:28:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/after-assads-fall-syrians-and-eu-officials-hold-rare-meeting-in-damascus\/"},"modified":"2025-11-15T17:32:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-15T22:32:10","slug":"after-assads-fall-syrians-and-eu-officials-hold-rare-meeting-in-damascus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/after-assads-fall-syrians-and-eu-officials-hold-rare-meeting-in-damascus\/","title":{"rendered":"After Assad\u2019s fall, Syrians and EU officials hold rare meeting in Damascus"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fafter-assads-fall-syrians-and-eu-officials-hold-rare-meeting-in-damascus%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2511052&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article reports on a rare, EU-organized meeting held in Damascus where Syrian civil society representatives, EU officials, and the transitional government engaged in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/states-push-to-rein-in-big-tech-as-federal-gears-grind-slow\/\" title=\"...s Push to Rein in Big Tech as Federal Gears Grind Slow\">open dialog<\/a> for the first time on Syrian soil as the fall of the Assad regime.The discussions addressed sensitive issues such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/paper-trail-of-terror\/\" title=\"Paper Trail of Terror\">sectarian tensions<\/a>, ethnic divisions, and the fate of thousands who went missing under Assad&#8217;s rule. About 500 participants from various religious and ethnic backgrounds took part in the event, signaling a hopeful step toward an inclusive future for Syria. Despite ongoing violence and <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >deep-rooted societal challenges<\/a>, officials emphasized partnership and respect between the state and civil society as essential for rebuilding the country. Activists and officials alike acknowledged that while the Assad family&#8217;s fall is historic, Syria&#8217;s path forward remains complex and requires seizing present opportunities for change.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">After Assad&rsquo;s fall, Syrians and EU officials hold rare meeting in Damascus<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2402018\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><strong>DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) &mdash;<\/strong> Representatives of&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/syria\">Syria&rsquo;s civil society<\/a>&nbsp;held rare open discussions Saturday in Damascus in the presence of officials from the&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/european-union\">European Union<\/a>&nbsp;and the transitional government. They touched on sensitive topics including sectarian tensions, ethnic divisions and people killed by different sides.<\/p>\n<p>The EU-organized meetings known as &ldquo;The Day of Dialogue&rdquo; are the first to be held in Damascus after taking place in past years Brussels. Saturday&rsquo;s meetings came nearly a year after the fall of the 54-year Assad family rule in Syria in a stunning offensive by insurgent groups in early December.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3888463\/palestinian-leader-struggles-for-a-role-in-gaza\/\">The unpopular and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/congo-and-m23-rebels-sign-framework-for-peace-deal-in-latest-bid-to-end-decades-long-conflict\/\" title=\"Congo and M23 rebels sign framework for peace deal in latest bid to end decades-long conflict\">politically weak 90-year-<\/a>old Palestinian leader struggles for a role in Gaza<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3888462\/mexica-myth-mexico-enduring-symbol\/\">Why a centuries-old Mexica myth became Mexico&rsquo;s enduring symbol<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3887393\/european-allies-reaffirm-military-support-ukraine-kyiv-launches-corruption-audit\/\">European allies reaffirm military support for Ukraine as Kyiv launches corruption audit<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The meetings that used to take place within the framework of the Brussels Conferences were mostly boycotted by then-President Bashar Assad&rsquo;s government. The EU said Saturday&rsquo;s meetings were organized in cooperation with Syrian civil society and the Syrian transitional authorities.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The meeting that used to be held to talk about Syria is now being held in Syria,&rdquo; Syria&rsquo;s Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani said in a speech at the opening session held at a conference center in the southern outskirts of Damascus.<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/syria-explosion-mazzeh-damascus-fd4eb682c769cc3eabeae1c8340524e9\"><\/a><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/syria-embassy-london-uk-britain-6628b4a7b644e24e4beafb28ef44ca27\"><\/a><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/syria-damascus-museum-statues-stolen-roman-era-theft-51a041b63de8c25e9506ba2cf50ac5a9\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Al-Shibani added that Saturday&rsquo;s meetings represent &ldquo;a solid partnership with the civil society and our partners in the European Union.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Michael Ohnmacht, charg&eacute; d&rsquo;affaires of the EU delegation to Syria, said 500 people from Syria&rsquo;s different religious and ethnic groups took part in the meetings and &ldquo;this is something very positive.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This is what we hope for Syria&rsquo;s future, to see this inclusive state which will be a state in the form of all its citizens,&rdquo; Ohnmacht said.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the changes in Syria over the past year, sectarian violence in the country&rsquo;s coastal region in March and the southern province of Sweida in July between pro-government gunmen and members of the country&rsquo;s Druze and Alawite minorities left hundreds of people dead.<\/p>\n<p>Such acts of violence show that Syria still faces major crises in the 14-year conflict that has left half a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/greg-gutfeld-offers-advice-to-fauci-after-lab-leak-document-dump-resign-and-get-a-lawyer\/\" title=\"Greg Gutfeld Offers Advice To Fauci After Lab Leak Document Dump: \u2018Resign And Get A Lawyer\u2019\">million people dead<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Today&rsquo;s dialogue is the beginning of change and rebuilding Syria only happens through partnership based on respect between the state and civil society,&rdquo; said Social Affairs Minister Hind Kabawat.<\/p>\n<p>During one of the sessions on transitional justice and the fate of the missing, Syrians demanded answers on issues still pending, such as more than 130,000 people who went missing under Assad&rsquo;s rule while an ethnic Kurd spoke about state discrimination they have faced for decades. Another spoke about violence against some women who belong to minority sects.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3888392\/mtg-blames-trump-for-violent-threats-against-her\/\">MTG BLAMES TRUMP FOR VIOLENT THREATS AGAINST HER<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Mazen Darwish, a Syrian lawyer and one of the country&rsquo;s most prominent activists who was repeatedly jailed in Syria before he went into exile years ago, said no one regrets the fall of the Assad family rule adding that this does not mean that &ldquo;the future of Syria will be rosy and great.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Today we have an opportunity in Syria and we have to take advantage of it,&rdquo; Darwish said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rare Syria-EU talks in Damascus after Assad&#8217;s fall<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":2511053,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AP25319643162524.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[67149,3817,39748,32726,7887],"class_list":["post-2511052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-assad-2","tag-diplomacy","tag-eu","tag-middle-east","tag-syria"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/AP25319643162524.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2511052","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/136"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2511052"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2511052\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2511056,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2511052\/revisions\/2511056"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2511053"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2511052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2511052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2511052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}