ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – French President Emmanuel Macron will host Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Wednesday in the latter’s inaugural European visit since ascending to power in December.

The French presidency told AFP on Tuesday that Macron will “reiterate France's support for the construction of a new Syria, a free, stable, sovereign Syria that respects all components of Syrian society.”

The statement continued that the French leader would outline “his demands on the Syrian government, primarily the stabilization of the region, including Lebanon, and the fight against terrorism."

The upcoming visit offers a seminal moment for Sharaa to capture Western goodwill and engage in diplomatic outreach in the pursuit of legitimacy for his administration.

Macron has thus far proved forthcoming in extending support to the post-revolutionary order, initially inviting Sharaa to Paris in February. He repeated this offer once more in March, though caveating that it came with the provision that the new Syrian government should be inclusive and reflective of the country’s makeup.

Sharaa and his Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebel group sparked concerns in the international community upon seizing power from deposed Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad in an unprecedented two-week offensive in December over his previous involvement in the militant group Al-Qaeda and his activities during the war in Iraq.

Despite HTS’s Islamist roots, Sharaa has repeatedly promised that his administration will endeavor to protect Syria’s plethora of ethnic and religious minority groups.

Concerns were raised in late April after a bout of sectarian violence afflicted Syria, with security forces-affiliated personnel attacking members of the country’s Druze minority religious group.

Sharaa vowed to crack down on the perpetrators as part of a deal agreed upon with members of the Druze spiritual leadership.

In spite of repeated promises of inclusivity, Syrian security forces in March carried out an extensive campaign of "public executions" against the minority Alawites in the coastal regions of the west of the country, killing over 1,700 men, women, and children.