May 11th, 2026
‘High-level political dialogue’ between the European Union and Syria: let’s keep Syria’s Christians in our minds.
This Monday, 11 May, following the European Union’s Foreign Affairs Council, the first “high-level political dialogue” will be launched in the presence of the European Union’s foreign ministers and their Syrian counterpart, Assad al-Chaibani. The purpose of the meeting: to facilitate Syria’s economic recovery.
For SOS Chrétiens d’Orient, a humanitarian organisation active in Syria since 2013, welcomes this “high-level political dialogue” as good news, given that 90% of Syrians live below the poverty line and the entire country needs to be rebuilt, after the resumption of diplomatic relations and the lifting of economic sanctions.
Nevertheless, Syria’s Christians – and other religious minorities – must not be overlooked in such diplomatic and trade meetings. According to Benjamin Blanchard, SOS Chrétiens d’Orient’s Director General, “whilst Syria’s new leaders’ speeches are intended to be reassuring regarding the future of the country’s Christian communities, and whilst freedom of worship is generally tolerated, it must be acknowledged that for the past 18 months, Christians in Syria, as well as other components of Syrian society notably Alawites and Druze, have been living in anxiety and fear for their future in the country”.
Some recent events heightened this concern:
– On June 22nd, 2025, an attack on Saint Elias Church in Damascus left 25 dead and more than sixty injured.
– In the aftermath of this attack, Greek Orthodox Patriarch John X was the target of widespread online smear and threat campaign.
– More recently, on the night of 27 March, Islamist gangs attacked the inhabitants of Al-Squelbieh, a Christian town in Hama governorate, assaulting residents and looting shops, without a swift action from government security forces. This extremely violent attack forced Christians across Syria to cancel all public celebrations and processions that usually mark Palm Sunday and Easter feats.
In short, the daily lives of Christians in Syria, like those of many Syrians, are marked by attacks, kidnappings, looting and extortion.
Therefore, SOS Chrétiens d’Orient calls on the Council of the European Union to link this ‘high-level political dialogue between the EU and Syria’:
-To a real religious freedom, so that Christians in Syria can practise their faith publicly without fear or restriction.
-To a civil society respect and a genuine inclusion of all components of the Syrian people in the country’s reconstruction.
Syria’s Christians ask for nothing more than to be recognised as full Syrians; not as a tolerated minority or second-class citizens, but as Syrians who wish to participate actively in the institutional, political and social reconstruction of their country.
Benjamin Blanchard, SOS Chrétiens d’Orient’s Director General, is delighted to answer all of journalists’ inquiries.
