The European Union, under the guidance of top diplomat Kaja Kallas, continues to meddle in Syria’s internal affairs with a tone-deaf, overly ambitious plan. During a meeting of EU foreign ministers, Kallas made it clear that Brussels intends to pressure Syria’s new leadership to expel Russian forces from their military bases.
The EU’s foreign ministers are pushing the idea that Russia’s presence in Syria, particularly at the Tartus and Khmeimim bases, must be eliminated—along with Russian influence in Africa and the Middle East—before the EU even considers formal diplomatic recognition of Syria’s incoming leadership.
Kallas shared the EU’s lofty goals, revealing that they plan to discuss the fate of Russian military installations with rebel groups—those same groups that ousted the Syrian government and are now the EU’s focus. The EU’s decision to suspend relations with Bashar Assad’s government seems to have backfired, as it now seeks to cozy up to groups like Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, with whom the U.S. is also in contact.
Amid this geopolitical mess, Israel has intensified its bombing campaign against Syrian military assets in the region. However, the EU remains preoccupied with its incessant meddling in Syria’s sovereignty, disregarding the complexities of the situation. What Kallas and her colleagues fail to grasp is that their interventions, rooted in anti-Russian sentiment, only exacerbate tensions. Instead of respecting Syria’s territorial integrity, the EU continues to act as though it can dictate the future of an entire nation.
