In October, some EU countries, led by Italy, pushed to normalize ties with Syria in order to facilitate the deportation of migrants. Assad, who held power for 25 years until fleeing to Moscow with his family, has been accused of torture and of using chemical weapons on his own people.
With the ouster of Assad, Europe must now deal with HTS, which is considered a terrorist group by many Western countries, including the United States and the U.K. (which confirmed the government will pause asylum claims from Syrian citizens late Monday).
“The Home Office has paused decisions on Syrian asylum claims whilst we assess the current situation. We keep all country guidance relating to asylum claims under constant review so we can respond to emerging issues,” a U.K. Home Office spokesperson said.
On Monday the EU’s executive arm announced the bloc won’t engage with HTS “full stop,” said its spokesperson Anouar El Anouni, raising questions as to how countries will reconcile their new migration limits with the EU’s policy toward HTS.
“As HTS takes on greater responsibilities, we will need to assess not just their words, but also their actions,” Anouni added.
Several politicians from Germany’s center-right CDU party have spoken out in favor of returning many of the country’s 800,000 Syrians to their homeland in the past 24 hours.
At a Greek government briefing Monday, spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis said Greece hopes for the smooth return of Syrian refugees to their homes. “The return to democratic normality makes us be cautiously optimistic, to expect the possible return of many refugees, people who suffered due to the situation in Syria,” Marinakis said.
This story has been updated. Sarah Wheaton and Sasha Schroeder contributed to this report.