Macron urges Turkey's Erdogan to help preserve Syria's integrity

French diplomacy walks fine line between exploratory talks and demands from new authorities

The French national flag is raised at the French embassy, after the ousting of Syria's Bashar Al Assad, in Damascus, on December 17, 2024. Reuters

France's response to the recent change of leadership in Syria has brought seasoned diplomats to the fore, while President Emmanuel Macron's cabinet members have blazed a trail, in initial moves that have won praise from former high-ranking officials.

How Paris reacts to the fall of the Assad regime, and the takeover of Syria by rebel groups led by Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS), is being closely scrutinised in European circles due to France's colonial past in the Middle East and heavy involvement in Levantine diplomacy.

Mr Macron is known to lead French diplomacy in a style that has often overshadowed his foreign ministers while at the same time relying on long-standing officials to ensure the country is at the heart of changing international events.

In a phone call on Wednesday, the French leader talked to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. They expressed their joint aspiration for a "peaceful and representative political transition," according to an Elysee statement.

In what appeared to be a reference to Turkey's influence in vast northern parts of its neighbour Syria, Mr Macron "clarified to President Erdogan that France would support regional efforts to preserve the unity and sovereignty of Syria".

While France cannot single-handedly shape the EU's response to Syria, it can significantly influence how the bloc reacts to, and possibly supports, the transition towards what many hope will be a peaceful Syria after 13 years of civil war and more than five decades of dictatorial rule by the Assad family.

Syria and HTS remain under heavy western sanctions but the 10-day old interim government faces important challenges in rebuilding the country, including reckoning with the grim unearthing of mass graves, sky-high poverty rates and the destruction of Syrian military infrastructure by Israeli bombs in the past days.

"Mr Macron has a vision of foreign diplomacy akin to a diplomatic Sun King," Michel Duclos, French ambassador to Damascus between 2006 and 2009, told The National, in a reference to France's most famous sovereign, Louis XIV (1638-1715).

Importance of Aqaba meeting

The French President's latest diplomatic success was in getting US president-elect Donald Trump to make Paris his first overseas destination after his re-election. Accompanied by his new adviser, the world's richest man Elon Musk, Mr Trump attended the re-opening of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris earlier this month in what was a high moment for French prestige despite turbulent national politics.

France's Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot at a meeting with his EU counterparts in Brussels on December 16. AFP

"Yet in the Syria affair, France's current Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot has managed to exist in a manner that his predecessors did not. He understood it was important to be in Aqaba," Mr Duclos, special adviser to the Montaigne Institute in Paris and author of a book on Syria, The Long Syrian Night, said.

Mr Barrot, whose future at the helm of French diplomacy is uncertain amid talks to set up a new cabinet, appeared to be the only European foreign affairs minister present Saturday at a meeting on Syria organised by his Jordanian counterpart, Ayman Safadi.

It was attended by seven other Arab foreign affairs ministers. In a joint statement, Arab ministers pledged to support Syria in its transition in co-ordination with the UN. The UK and Germany were represented by their ambassadors to Jordan. The US dispatched Secretary of State Antony Blinken, while the EU sent its foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas.

Tricolour raised

Three days later, in a hugely symbolic moment, France hoisted its flag above its embassy in Damascus for the first time since its closure in 2012, when Paris cut off diplomatic relations with former president Bashar Al Assad due to his brutal response to peaceful protests. The embassy appeared to not have been looted in over a decade. Before leaving 12 years ago, French diplomats had destroyed computers with an axe and taken archives to Beirut.

The act of taking regaining control of property for administrative purposes is important in French diplomacy. "It doesn't mean that we'll necessarily re-open the embassy, but it's highly likely," Mr Duclos said. The flag hoisting ceremony was conducted in presence of France's special envoy to Syria, Jean-Francois Guillaume - a job title that appeared after the closure of the embassy in replacement to ambassador to Syria. Mr Guillaume, who took office in September, had previously been posted in French embassies in Beirut, Bagdad and Riyadh.

After a first meeting on Tuesday between French diplomats in Damascus with an unnamed representative of the transitional government, Paris will determine how to further engage with HTS depending on its handling of minority interests, women, as well as its fight against ISIS, among other issues, the Foreign Affairs Ministry said.

"France will continue to work, with its partners, to help the Syrians find the path to reconciliation and reconstruction through an inclusive political solution," it added.

What was noticeably missing from the French statement was any attempt to tie diplomatic relations with HTS to a withdrawal of Russian forces from Syria - a demand that has been voiced by Ms Kallas and EU countries such as The Netherlands.

It is not a position shared by all EU countries and has been described by Syria experts as restrictive. Russia and HTS have begun negotiations in a "positive atmosphere," an HTS source told The National on Monday, speaking at the Russian controlled Hmeimim airbase in Latakia.

Also missing from the French statement was any reference to HTS's past relations with Al Qaeda, the reason why the group has been listed since 2014 as a terror group by the UN Security Council, US and EU.

The latter omission was in contrast to Germany's statement after a meeting between its diplomats in Damascus and HTS representatives. Berlin is looking into re-opening its embassy in Damascus but has not given a timeline. "We know where HTS comes from and know its origins in the Al Qaeda ideology," a German foreign office representative said. "Like our international partners, we will judge them by their actions."

Polishing its image has been important part of HTS diplomacy since its take-over of Damascus, and French authorities appear to be trying to walk the fine line between wariness and respect of the rebel group's new role in a country where instability has heavy repercussions on Europe. It will be important to strike the "right tone," Mr Duclos said. "My hope is that we will manage to not be too brutal in our approach to the new authorities, who we know are struggling to control the situation, while also not giving them a blank check."

Ahmed Al Shara, head of Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, the de facto new leaders of Syria, meets Stephen Hickey, director of the Middle East and North Africa department at Britain's Foreign Office, in Damascus on Tuesday. AFP