NICOSIA: Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa met French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday on the sidelines of the informal meeting of EU heads of states and regional partners in Nicosia.
The meeting was held in the presence of Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Asaad Hassan Al-Shaibani, as part of Syria’s participation in the gathering hosted at the Filoxenia Conference Center.
President Al-Sharaa also took part in the meeting’s proceedings, which were held at the invitation of Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and President of the European Council Antonio Costa.
He delivered a speech stressing the need to enhance regional stability and intensify international coordination to address common challenges.
EU leaders vowed on Friday to build closer ties with Syria, following talks with Al-Sharaa in Cyprus.
The EU “acknowledges the important steps that you have taken to rebuild Syria,” Costa told Al-Sharaa after the meeting.
“We support your efforts toward a peaceful and inclusive Syria.”
Al-Sharaa’s presence in Nicosia was another testament of the new chapter in relations between Brussels and Damascus since Bashar Assad’s ouster from power in December 2024.
It comes as the EU and Syria prepare for a new round of talks with a “high-level political dialogue” due to be held in Brussels on May 11.
“What we have accomplished today is a solid start that paves the way for the major event in Brussels,” Al-Sharaa said.
The 27-nation EU has sought to help bolster Syria, as it seeks to rebuild after the civil war.
This week Brussels proposed EU states fully restart the bloc’s cooperation agreement with Damascus — which abolishes customs duties on imports of most industrial products from Syria — and is looking to strike a more ambitious deal.
The May gathering could pave the way “for possible future association agreement,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in Nicosia.
“We will keep supporting the revival of Syria’s economy and the reconciliation of its society,” she added.
In January, von der Leyen announced a €620-million ($730 million) two-year financial support package during a visit to Damascus.
The bloc has also dropped economic sanctions as it looks to help the Syrian authorities.
Macron has been co-leading international conferences on military cooperation alongside British Prime Minister Keir Starmer outside of NATO.
President Macron said he considered the EU’s common defense clause “stronger” than the one binding NATO together.
The mutual defense clause enshrined in Article 42.7 of the Treaty of the EU, which requires other EU countries to come to the defence of any member under attack, is “steadfast,” Macron said.
It is unambiguous and, “in substance, stronger than Article 5” in NATO’s founding treaty, he said in a news conference alongside Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
“It allows solidarity between member countries but leaves no option.”
