The development in Syria was one of the main topics when the EU countries' foreign ministers gathered in Brussels on Monday. At the same time, the head of the EU's Syria delegation traveled from Beirut to Damascus to meet with representatives of the country's new government.
The EU – like the rest of the world – is currently pondering how to relate to the Syrian leadership.
For us, it's not just about words, but we want to see action. The coming weeks and months will show if it's going in the right direction, says Kallas.
One of the most acute questions is how to handle the sanctions against Syria – even though they are largely directed against individuals and organizations within the former Assad regime. At the same time, the Islamist militia HTS (Hayat Tahrir al-Sham) is also on the EU's and UN's sanctions and terror lists.
It's clear that it will have consequences. It's a listing that the EU also follows, and therefore also Sweden. It's a factor that we must weigh in when we now discuss how we will work further and what kind of relationship we will have with this organization, says Sweden's Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard (M).
