Italy wants to take active part in Syria's peace efforts: Italian deputy premier

Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said an Italian delegation met with the new Syrian administration, saying Italy wants to take "an active part in the process of reunification, peace, and stability."

During his visit to Kosovo on Monday, Tajani made a statement on the developments in Syria following the overthrow of the 61-year-old Baathist regime, Italian ANSA news agency reported.

"We want to be an active part of the process of reunification, peace and stability in Syria," Tajani said, adding that an Italian delegation met with the new Syrian administration in Damascus.

Tajani emphasized that it is important for them to follow these processes in order to work on lifting the sanctions against Syria.

On Dec. 18, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said that lifting sanctions against Syria could be another tool to achieve rapprochement, but the situation is not clear at the moment.

Bashar Assad, Syria's leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia after anti-regime groups took control of the capital Damascus on Dec. 8, ending the Baath Party regime which had been in power since 1963.

The takeover came after Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) fighters captured key cities in a lightning offensive that lasted less than two weeks.