European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen said Tuesday Brussels would intensify its “direct engagement” with Syria’s new rulers after the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad.
“Now we have to step up and continue our direct engagement with HTS and other factions,” she told a news conference in Ankara, referring to the main opposition group HTS which ousted the Syrian regime leader Bashar al-Assad.
EU chief says cannot allow a ‘Daesh/ISIS resurgence’ in Syria
A resurgence of Daesh/ISIS extremists in Syria following the ouster of regime leader Bashar al-Assad must not be allowed to happen, EU chief Ursula Von der Leyen said on Tuesday.
“The risk of a Daesh resurgence… is real. We cannot let this happen,” she said at a joint press conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara.