The EU welcomed a roadmap agreed by Syria, Jordan and the US to resolve the crisis in Suwayda province, marking a rare moment of regional cooperation.
According to the spokesperson, the bloc supports "swift implementation of the agreement" and ongoing communication between all sides in order to find a long-term solution that safeguards Syria's security, independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity while protecting all Syrians equally.
"The EU welcomes the roadmap announced by Syria, Jordan and the United States to address the crisis in the governorate of Suwayda,"
an EU spokesperson said in a statement.
After discussions in Damascus with his Jordanian colleague Ayman Safadi and US envoy to Syria Tom Barrack, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani on Tuesday unveiled a seven-step plan to end the Suwayda conflict.
"The EU continues to call on the transitional authorities to ensure an inclusive political transition that fulfills the aspirations of all Syrians,"
read the statement.
Speaking at a press conference, al-Shaibani stated that the strategy aims to provide Suwayda with continuous medical and humanitarian assistance, restore critical services so that life can resume normally, and use local security forces to guard highways and make travel easier.
In addition, he stated that it seeks to provide compensation to those impacted, permit the repatriation of displaced individuals, find out what happened to the missing, initiate a reconciliation process involving all communities in the province, and hold responsible "all those whose hands are stained with assaults on civilians and their property."
After a week of Israeli military attacks and armed fighting between Bedouin tribes and Druze organizations, Suwayda has been under a ceasefire since July 19.
What are the main challenges in implementing the Syria roadmap?
The "Supreme Legal Committee" in Suwayda, which is aligned with Druze priest Hikmat al-Hijri, has strongly opposed the roadmap, as it puts a foreign "guardianship" of the province, undermining local autonomy.
The committee demanded the right of the province to full independence, and for outside oversight to stay outside of Damascus, creating friction between local separatism and the central government.
There are deep local divisions between overwhelming support for reintegration and vocal hardliners seeking a path toward autonomy or separatism. The roadmap seeks reconciliation and the restoration of security, but decades of war and sectarian violence have created deep mistrust in those communities.