German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron have agreed to work with the Syrian opposition groups that took power in Damascus “on the basis of fundamental human rights and the protection of ethnic and religious minorities,” Berlin said in a statement Monday.
The decision came during a phone call the French and German leaders held Monday. It comes after rebel forces ousted dictator Bashar Assad and took control of Syria on Sunday, following 13 years of bloody civil war in which over half a million people were killed.
Western capitals are debating how to engage with the Syrian rebels, who are led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which the U.S. and U.K. have designated as a terrorist organization. HTS and its leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani were previously affiliated with al Qaeda, but cut ties with the group in 2016. Since then, al-Jolani has attempted to portray his group as more moderate.
