Briefly

SYRIA

European diplomats meet de facto leader

The foreign ministers of Germany and France said they wanted to forge a new relationship with Syria and urged a peaceful transition as they visited Damascus on Friday to meet its de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa on behalf of the European Union. Germany's Annalena Baerbock and France's Jean-Noel Barrot are the first ministers from the EU to visit Syria since opposition groups seized control of Damascus on Dec 8.