PARIS — A team of French diplomats arrived in Damascus on Tuesday to prepare for the reopening of France's embassy 12 years after its closure, signaling a possible formal reopening. The European Union is planning a similar move.

With an interim government now in place in Syria, set up by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebel group, France hopes to reestablish its diplomatic presence in the country’s capital. The United Kingdom, Germany and perhaps other European countries could follow suit, as is the European Union's diplomacy branch, the European Union External Action Service, though final decisions in most European capitals have not been made yet. The bloc's envoy to Syria, Michael Ohnmacht, is currently stationed in Beirut. 

12-year absence 

The European Union suspended all bilateral cooperation with the Assad regime in May 2011 after civil war broke out in the country, and following the escalation of violence and what it deemed an unacceptable human rights situation. France, like the European Union External Action Service and other European countries, closed its embassy in Damascus in 2012. That being said, Europe continued to supply the Syrian people with humanitarian aid over the years.