SOS Chrétiens d’Orient – Q&A – Excerpt from the daily press briefing (24 September 2020)

Q : In Syria, the French NGO SOS Chrétiens d’Orient is, according to Mediapart, supporting pro-Assad Christian militia groups and funding agencies associated with Bashar al-Assad’s regime, with which France has broken off diplomatic relations. This association is also a “partner organization in national defense” of the Ministry for the Armed Forces. Was the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs aware of the NGO’s activities and if so, did it inform the Ministry for the Armed Forces? Have you been contacted by the American authorities (in this regard) within the framework of the new Caesar Act targeted against the regime’s supporters?

A : The Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs has not provided any logistical or financial support to the association SOS Chrétiens d’Orient. With respect to the issues pertaining to the Ministry for the Armed Forces, please consult this ministry. The U.S. authorities have not as yet contacted the ministry with respect to this association.