By Beyza Binnur Donmez
GENEVA (AA) - Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares expressed support on Sunday for a peaceful and stable Syria following the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, highlighting Spain’s commitment to aiding the Syrian people and ensuring regional stability.
Speaking to broadcaster RTVE, Albares said Spain is closely monitoring developments in Syria.
“Spain will support, along with the countries most involved in the region and, of course, also through the European Union, any solution to Syria’s future that is peaceful,” he said.
“This has always been Spain’s wish for Syria—that it be peaceful, beneficial to the Syrian people, and that it contributes, in some way, to new stability in the Middle East rather than more instability,” he added.
Albares pointed to the fragile situation in neighboring Lebanon, which is hosting a large number of Syrian refugees and is currently under a precarious 60-day truce.
“Under no circumstances do we want more Syrian refugees in Lebanon or Türkiye,” he stressed, adding that stability in Syria is crucial for its people and the region.
Albares underlined the importance of preserving Syria’s territorial integrity, warning against the country fracturing into multiple regions controlled by different groups.
"Everyone has an interest in a peaceful and stable Syria, first and foremost the Syrian people," he said.
“Syria’s territorial integrity must be preserved, avoiding what we might call, using a colloquial foreign policy term, a ‘Balkanization’ of Syria,” he said.
He emphasized that steps must be taken to ensure that the Syrian people have the power to decide who governs them and how.
Assad fled Syria to an unknown location after anti-regime groups seized the capital Damascus early Sunday, marking the end of the Baath Party’s 60-year rule. The regime’s collapse followed the opposition’s capture of Aleppo, a key northern city, almost a week earlier.
Russian Foregin Ministry said that "Assad has decided to step down and left the country."