DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) 鈥� Representatives of held rare open discussions Saturday in Damascus in the presence of officials from the and the transitional government. They touched on sensitive topics including sectarian tensions, ethnic divisions and people killed by different sides.
The EU-organized meetings known as 鈥淭he Day of Dialogue鈥� are the first to be held in Damascus after taking place in past years Brussels. Saturday’s meetings came nearly a year after the fall of the 54-year Assad family rule in Syria in a stunning offensive by insurgent groups in early December.
The meetings that used to take place within the framework of the Brussels Conferences were mostly boycotted by then-President Bashar Assad鈥檚 government. The EU said Saturday’s meetings were organized in cooperation with Syrian civil society and the Syrian transitional authorities.
鈥淭he meeting that used to be held to talk about Syria is now being held in Syria,鈥� Syria鈥檚 Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani said in a speech at the opening session held at a conference center in the southern outskirts of Damascus.
Al-Shibani added that Saturday鈥檚 meetings represent 鈥渁 solid partnership with the civil society and our partners in the European Union.鈥�
Michael Ohnmacht, charg茅 d鈥檃ffaires of the EU delegation to Syria, said 500 people from Syria鈥檚 different religious and ethnic groups took part in the meetings and 鈥渢his is something very positive.鈥�
鈥淭his is what we hope for Syria鈥檚 future, to see this inclusive state which will be a state in the form of all its citizens,鈥� Ohnmacht said.
Despite the changes in Syria over the past year, sectarian violence in the country鈥檚 coastal region in March and the southern province of Sweida in July between pro-government gunmen and members of the country鈥檚 Druze and Alawite minorities left hundreds of people dead.
Such acts of violence show that Syria still faces major crises in the 14-year conflict that has left half a million people dead.
鈥淭oday鈥檚 dialogue is the beginning of change and rebuilding Syria only happens through partnership based on respect between the state and civil society,鈥� said Social Affairs Minister Hind Kabawat.
During one of the sessions on transitional justice and the fate of the missing, Syrians demanded answers on issues still pending, such as more than 130,000 people who went missing under Assad’s rule while an ethnic Kurd spoke about state discrimination they have faced for decades. Another spoke about violence against some women who belong to minority sects.
Mazen Darwish, a Syrian lawyer and one of the country鈥檚 most prominent activists who was repeatedly jailed in Syria before he went into exile years ago, said no one regrets the fall of the Assad family rule adding that this does not mean that 鈥渢he future of Syria will be rosy and great.鈥�
鈥淭oday we have an opportunity in Syria and we have to take advantage of it,鈥� Darwish said.
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
