Islam Times - Italy Laying the Rails for the EU to Rebuild its Syria Policy

Islam Times - The international developments have brought forth serious challenges to the integrated approaches of Europe that have been followed in foreign policy in not-so-distant years. With the rise of centrifugal members who want changes in the traditional policies of the European Union towards significant geopolitics, security, and migration issues, new principles and trends in the policy-making of the bloc are emerging.

Victory or emergence of revisionist parties and factions from the center-right to the left in elections of many European countries will gradually leave their impacts in various areas of integrated European governance, with the most obvious example being the increasing demands for fundamental revision of security and geopolitical matters in the bloc's foreign policy.

In this regard, recently a number of countries led by Italy have called for rebuilding Brussels ties with Damascus and the Italian government even said that it will soon name an ambassador to Syria and reopen its embassy there.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced on Friday that Rome decided to send an ambassador to Syria to draw attention to Syria. Stefano Ravanian, who was previously Italy's special envoy for Syria, is said to be named as the country's ambassador in Damascus, and according to the Italian FM, Ravanian is going to start his work as an ambassador soon. Tajani also reminded: "The appointment of the new ambassador is in line with the letter we sent to Josep Borrell, the head of the European Union's foreign policy, in order to draw attention to Syria."

It is noteworthy that seven countries of Austria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Greece, Croatia, Slovenia, and Slovakia last week sent a letter to Borrel calling for a more active European role in Syria.

"A large number of Syrian citizens are still leaving their country and this puts additional pressure on neighboring countries. This is while the tension in the region has spread and such conditions increase the risk of a new wave of refugees and an increase in asylum seekers in other countries," the letter read.

The signatories of this letter have expressed their regret for the dire humanitarian situation in Syria, which they believe has intensified due to the full collapse of the country's economy. They also suggested discussing the impact of the EU sanctions mechanism on Syria, as excessive pressure on the banking system has had negative side-effects on the people.

Currently, six European countries, including Romania, Bulgaria Cyprus Greece, Czech Republic, and Hungaria, have active embassies in Damascus.

Italy's return to Syria comes as the country recalled all its embassy staff in Damascus in 2012 and suspended diplomatic activities due to what it called the "unacceptable violence" of Bashar al-Assad's government against citizens.

The change in Italy's positions did not happen overnight, and despite cutting off its diplomatic relations with Syria, this country was outside the European anti-Syrian consensus over the past decade and, unlike other Western powers, had taken a more moderate position towards Damascus and tried not to burn all the bridges behind it so that the process of reconciliation will not be complicated prospectively.

Italian politicians have had more or less political relations with Syria in recent years, and between 2017 and 2019, two Italian delegations led by Paolo Romani, a prominent member of the center-right party and former head of the Italian Forza group in the Senate, visited Damascus to meet with Syrian officials.

In 2019, Italy in a surprise move announced the reopening of its embassy in Damascus, but Rome did not name an ambassador to Damascus, but sent a chargé d'affaires, and the full restoration of diplomatic relations between the two countries has been delayed until now.

In July 2023, Italy also sent Stefano Ravanian to Syria, a move that was an important indicator of Italy's different position on Syria. Still, most analysts denied that this trip would lead to the restoration of bilateral relations so quickly, but Rome did the job in a historic juncture.

Also, Syrian opposition media sources revealed last May that Italian foreign intelligence agency (AISE) chief General Gianni caravelli made a secret visit to Damascus, during which he met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as well as Syrian intelligence director Hussam Luqa, as part of coordination for reviewing bilateral relations.

Concerns about new wave of Syrian migrants

With the escalation of the crisis in Syria, a large part of the refugees headed to European countries by land and sea, imposing heavy costs on the shoulders of EU. Settling this case takes cooperation with Damascus.

The European countries on the Mediterranean coast, which are the top intakers of migrants have moved to set up contacts with Syria as the migration intensified across the world. As the Europeans said, the issue of Syrian refugees over the past 12 years has represented a serious challenge to the continent. Although many terrorist groups have been obliterated in Syria, the fear and concern of the new migration of Syrian refugees continues to cast a shadow on European countries.

On the other hand, due to the US and European sanctions, Syria continues to suffer from a difficult economic situation, and a number of Syrians inevitably head to Europe to find food and jobs. Therefore, Italy and the countries that signed the letter are worried about new waves of Syrian immigrants to their countries again, because the Westerners have incurred a lot of costs due to the war in Ukraine, and amid sheltering millions of Ukrainians, they are far from able to accommodate Syrians.

So, the leaders of the right-wing government in Rome who are seriously at odds with EU migration policies are trying, through reopening its embassy, to pave the way for return of other EU members to Syria and help settle part of Syrian economic problems by modifying the sanctions. With economic progress and reconstruction of the infrastructures, the rate of Syrian migration will slow down and the West will feel some comfort from this crisis.

Although Italy has declared the resolution of the migration challenge and the improvement of the economic situation in Syria as the goal of normalizing ties with Damascus, this change of position is also related to the political situation in Syria. By supporting terrorist groups in 2011, the Westerners tried to overthrow the legitimate government of al-Assad and upset the security balance in the region to the detriment of rivals such as Russia and Iran and to the benefit of the Israeli regime, but despite spending huge money on this project, they failed and now they have realized the fact that al-Assad is the leader of the Syrian political arena and they have to face the Syrian fact with shame.

Since the time al-Assad regained control over much of Syrian territories he once lost to foreign-backed terrorists, Arab countries gradually rebuilt their relations with Damascus. Their most important symbolic move towards rapprochement was last year when they invited Syrian president to the Arab League. Turkey, too, recently expressed interest to improve ties with Syria. So, Italy does not find it proper to keep the tensions with the Syrian government, especially that Rome and Ankara are rivals in the Mediterranean and specifically in Libyan developments.

It is clear that the move of countries that have decided to normalize relations with Syria is more than a tactic and there are wide and complex dimensions resting behind this plan. Because ending the case of hostility to Syria allows Westerners to address concerns or problems arising from the Syrian crisis, whether it is about re-controlling the borders, solving the refugees problem, or trying to gain influence in Syria.

Europe seeking control over strategic West Asia region

Another issue that the Europeans are following after returning to Syria is the existing tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean. In recent years, Turkey has improved its position in this strategic region economically and by exploring oil and gas resources from the Mediterranean bed, which has triggered concerns among Europeans.

Europe desperately needs Eastern Mediterranean region for its oil and gas amid the energy crisis stemming from the war in Ukraine, and the more regional countries are aligned to the European policies, the more confident will the EU be about energy flow.

Italy and Western countries are worried that with the normalization of Turkey's relations with Syria in the near future, Ankara will practically become the dominant power in the Eastern Mediterranean and in times of crisis will use its leverages to punish its European allies, a card Ankara already played with when it threatened to unleash huge waves of refugees to Europe if the latter denied it trade and economic privileges.

The issue becomes more worrying for Italy and the West when we know that al-Assad's main condition for normalizing relations with Turkey is to jointly confront terrorist groups and drive them out of Syria. Italy is afraid that if the relations between Turkey and Syria are resumed, the terrorists will be forced away to the south of Europe to which Italy is a frontier.

To date, due to its proximity to Libya, Italy only felt threatened by the terrorists of this African country, but with the departure of the terrorists from Syria, its concerns will double and thousands of takfiris that no country is ready to accept may flow to Europe under the guise of immigrants. Therefore, the leaders of Rome intend to find a way to neutralize terrorism and form a government of national unity in Syria with the cooperation of the Syrian government so that Europe stays safe against terrorism and refugees threats.

Competition of European powers in West Asia

From another perspective, Italy, as one of the economic powers of Europe and a member of the G7, is looking for a foothold in West Asia to strengthen its economic and military position against other rivals. Since the US has begun to sclae down its military presence in West Asia due to its focus on issues in the East and the South China Sea in recent years, the Europeans are trying to fill this security vacuum.

Earlier, Britain and France geared for replacing the US by deploying their aircraft carriers and warships to the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, and the Eastern Mediterranean. To not fall behind, Italy is seeking to improve ties with such countries as Syria that is the linking ring of West Asia to the Mediterranean. Italian influence at a time other European rivals have not presence in this regional country can give Rome a winning card.

Furthermore, Italian presence in Syria is seen a prelude to entering Lebanon, a country that was once a protectorate of the colonial France. Since West Asia will play an important role in international developments in the future, any actor who can have more influence in this strategic region will have a lot to say in global equations.

In general, the complications of Syrian scene arising from the extensive interventions of foreign countries and transformation of Syrian case into part of the tensions and international conflicts will gradually severely impact the political future of Syria and the stances of actors active in it. Therefore, relations of hostile Arab and Western countries with Syria cannot be expected to return to normal without reaching a comprehensive solution, and the crisis the enemies have caused to Syria using terrorists will perhaps be settled only through cooperation with al-Assad government.