Antonio Tajani said Italy wants to be a bridge between Damascus and the EU.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani held talks with Syria’s new rulers and called for talks on easing EU sanctions imposed on Bashar al-Assad’s former government.

Tajani meets Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed Sala Sanctions imposed after Assad cracked down on anti-government protests that sparked the country’s 13-year civil war “must not harm the Syrian people,” he said in Damascus on Friday.

“They were imposed because there were different regimes. It is important to have a discussion about the changed situation,” he said, referring to the situation last month opposition takeover The regime, led by al-Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham armed group, brought Assad’s rule to an abrupt end.

Tajani said Italy wanted to help Syria recover from civil war and rebuild its shattered economy, becoming a bridge between Damascus and the European Union.

“The Mediterranean is no longer just a sea of ​​death, a graveyard of immigrants, but a sea of ​​commerce, a sea of ​​development,” he said.

Al Jazeera’s Hashim Akhbara, reporting from Damascus, called the meeting with Salad “very important.”

“(It) gives you a sense that the international community recognizes this new administration as a new reality and they are willing to do business with it.”

Need for “real progress”

Tajani arrived in Damascus on Thursday after holding talks in Rome with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, EU foreign policy chief Kaya Callas and officials from Britain, France and Germany.

He said the so-called five-party meeting on Syria was key to starting discussions on changing EU sanctions.

Karas said earlier on Friday that the 27-nation bloc could start lifting sanctions if Syria’s new rulers take steps to form an inclusive government that protects minorities.

“If real progress is made, the EU could gradually ease sanctions,” Karas wrote on X.

In Damascus, Tajani also met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs Asad Hassan Shabanihe announced that he would soon be embarking on his first official European tour.

Since the beginning of this month, Shabani has visited Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Jordan.

Shabani said he welcomed Tajani’s focus on sanctions.

“We agree with him that the rationale for imposing these measures no longer exists and could become an obstacle to encouraging the return of refugees outside Syria,” he said.

More than half a million people have been killed in Syria’s war, which has also devastated the economy and forced millions to flee their homes, including to Europe.