Foreign Ministry keeps the Embassy in Damascus open and could appoint a “special envoy for Syria”

Eduardo González The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, announced this Tuesday that the Spanish Embassy in Damascus “will not be closed” and will remain “operational” depending on the “security conditions”, and has reported the possibility of appointing “a special envoy for Syria” after the overthrow of the Bashar al Assad regime. “The Spanish Embassy in Damascus will not be closed, it remains operational, obviously adapted to the security conditions, to help any Spaniard or Spanish-Syrian who wants to leave the country,” declared the minister during the press conference after the Council of Ministers. The Embassy was reduced to the bare minimum in 2012 after Spain decided to withdraw its ambassador in Damascus in retaliation for the repressive policy of the Al Assad regime against anti-government protests. Since then, the embassy has been headed by a chargé d'affaires, but Albares announced at the same press conference his intention to reinforce the Embassy in Damascus. “The idea is to create at least one special envoy for Syria,” taking into account what “is at stake in Syria at this time for the Middle East, the Mediterranean and the international community,” he added, in response to a question about whether he is considering appointing a new ambassador. Regarding the 26 people evacuated on Monday, Albares specified that they were “seven Spaniards, including the embassy staff, 16 Syrian Hispanics and three Syrian relatives of the former.” “The convoy crossed the border without further incident by road with Lebanon, where the staff of our Embassy in Beirut was waiting for it, fully mobilized for this operation,” he added. For the moment, he explained, evacuations can only be carried out by land because the airport in Damascus remains closed. “As soon as the airport reopens, we will evaluate new phases of evacuation if necessary,” he announced. The new authorities Regarding the new Syrian authorities, formed by rebels and jihadists led by the Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) group, heir to Al Qaeda in Syria and included on the list of terrorist organisations of the EU and the United States, Albares advocated “being cautious and seeing what the first steps are”. “We are going to judge the new authorities by their actions and their first actions”, he added. “The new leaders transmit moderation in these first moments and ensure the protection of minorities and the return to normality”, he continued. “What we want is for a peaceful transition to take place”, said Albares, who highlighted the fact that the new Syrian authorities have already appointed a prime minister for the transitional government and that, “apparently”, they are seeking to “incorporate elements of the regime, both military and administrative, into this transition”. “The prisons of the regime are happily being liberated”, he said. “We are willing to engage in dialogue with anyone who respects human rights, who guarantees the territorial integrity of Syria, who guarantees an inclusive political future for all Syrian people, including minorities, whether religious or ethnic,” he said. “Ultimately, what we are looking for is an inclusive Syria, which guarantees internal stability and which can also contribute to the stability of the Middle East,” he continued. In any case, Albares assured that Spain has no intention, for the moment, of suspending asylum procedures for Syrian citizens. “It is not like other countries in the European Union, which have already taken measures,” explained the minister, who assured that he has already addressed this issue with the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, and that the number of Syrian applicants in Spain is small.

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