The foreign ministers of Germany and France said they wanted to forge a new relationship with Syria and urged a peaceful transition as they visited Damascus on Friday meet its de facto new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa on behalf of the European Union.

Germany’s Annalena Baerbock and France’s Jean-Noel Barrot are the first ministers from the EU to visit Syria since rebels seized control of Damascus on Dec. 8 and forced President Bashar al-Assad to flee after more than 13 years of civil war, ending his family’s decades-long rule.

“My trip today…is a clear signal to the Syrians: A new political beginning between Europe and Syria, between Germany and Syria, is possible,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said before she left for Damascus.