Germany reopens its embassy in Syria, 13 years after it was closed

News

Germany reopens its embassy in Syria, 13 years after it was closed

2025-03-20 23:34 Last Updated At：23:50

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Germany's foreign minister reopened its embassy in Damascus on Thursday, 13 years after it was shut in the early days of Syria’s civil war, saying that Europe needs “eyes and ears” on the ground as it follows the Syrian political transition.

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock reopened the embassy before meeting interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa and others during a visit to Damascus, her second since the fall of former President Bashar Assad in December.

Among the European Union's 27 members, Italy reopened its embassy last year before the fall of Assad, and Spain reopened its embassy after his ouster.

“With this embassy opening, we are saying very clearly that Germany is back in Damascus, Germany has a paramount interest in a stable Syria,” Baerbock told reporters.

For the time being the embassy will have a very small team, supported by colleagues based in neighboring Lebanon, and offer no consular or visa services, she said. It is led by a charge d'affaires for now. "Whether there will in the future be an ambassador again depends on further political and, of course, security developments here,” she added.

“We want the political process in Syria to move forward and to support it as well as is possible,” Baerbock said. “For that, we as Europeans and as the Federal Republic of Germany need our colleagues as eyes and ears on the ground.”

Her visit followed clashes earlier this month between fighters loyal to Assad and forces of the country’s new rulers that sparked the worst violence since the civil war, leaving about 1,000 dead, most of them members of Assad’s Alawite minority community.

Baerbock said that in her talks with the transitional government, she "emphasized that it's now up to them to hold those responsible to account.”

The interim government earlier this month signed a deal with the Kurdish-led authority that controls the country’s northeast. Baerbock praised that agreement and said there needs to be inclusion for other groups as well so that they can feel they’re “part of a new Syria.”

Germany, one of the leading powers in the EU, has been a major destination for Syrian refugees over the past decade. If all the millions of Syrians who left the country returned at once, “Syria would collapse,” Baerbock said.

She said the return of those who want to go back would “have to be a step-by-step approach, especially starting with the direct neighboring countries.”

US men look no closer to World Cup goals after Panama's 1-0 upset win in CONCACAF Nations League

2025-03-21 11:48 Last Updated At：12:00

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Mauricio Pochettino took over the U.S. men's national team last year with the goal of getting it ready to thrive at its home World Cup in 2026.

Six months into Pochettino's project, the Americans don't appear to be any closer to that goal after getting stunned yet again by plucky Panama.

The U.S. lost 1-0 in the CONCACAF Nations League semifinals Thursday night on a goal in the fourth minute of second-half injury time by Cecilio Waterman.

But not much about the first 93 minutes suggested the Americans are ready to play for the biggest prizes in the world, let alone on their own continent. They've now flopped in the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup, 2024 Copa America and 2025 Nations League, all at home and twice with their primary player pool.

“There’s still time, 15 months, but just to pay attention is not enough,” Pochettino said of his World Cup goal. “The last three times we’ve faced Panama in official competition, we were not able to beat them. I think that is a question mark, but it’s a question mark that we need to work together to find the solution. What I told them the last few days (is) we can win, but what we need to do is to be competitive. And today in the first half, the team didn’t show that level of competitivity.”

Just like a few U.S. coaches before him, Pochettino couldn’t find ways to get the Americans through the five-defender low block at the base of Panama’s conservative 5-4-1 formation. The few U.S. scoring chances came to nothing, and Pochettino's team couldn't mount a consistent strategy.

“We didn’t shoot from distance,” Pochettino said. “This type of thing we need to use more. It wasn’t a good performance. In the second half, we were better, but never was the feeling we could score.”

Not many fans saw this disappointing outing — and perhaps that's a good thing. The match was available only on streaming services in an English-language broadcast in the U.S. because of commitments by CBS and Turner to the NCAA basketball tournament.

While the U.S. controlled two-thirds of the possession and put five of its 12 shots on target against Panama, Pochettino acknowledged his Americans lacked both creativity and a finishing touch. Striker Josh Sargent didn't finish his chances, and the Americans once again struggled for quality service into scoring positions, with Christian Pulisic contributing little of impact while the U.S. had nine corners.

“The result is the result, (but) today with a different result, my (feelings) would be the same: disappointed,” Pochettino said. “Because today, even if you win the game, in the action that we had in the second half … it’s not the way we want to be moving forward with the objective to play in the World Cup, with the objective to be competitive.”

The pitch at SoFi Stadium is a few yards narrower than most soccer fields, and Pochettino thought the dimensions favored Panama’s conservative defensive approach. He also acknowledged his team’s responsibility to find a way through any obstacle.

Patrick Agyemang replaced Sargent in the second half, and the Charlotte forward also failed to convert his chances, including two good opportunities in the final nine minutes before injury time.

Europe-based U.S. forwards Ricardo Pepi and Folarin Balogun are injured and Haji Wright is regaining fitness following a lengthy layoff, but the Americans’ problems are unlikely to be solved solely by improved play up front. Their patchwork defense wasn't frequently tested by Panama, but more offensively potent opponents could expose flaws on the back end as well.

And even goalkeeper Matt Turner came in for criticism of his positioning on Waterman's goal. Turner has only played four times for Crystal Palace this season, all in cup competitions.

As Pochettino said, the Americans still have time to improve before the World Cup. But that time is dwindling: Pochettino will have his full player pool for just five training camps before players report ahead of the tournament in 2026.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer