The European Union will establish contacts with Syria's new leadership and reopen its delegation in the country, EU diplomatic chief Kaja Kallas and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

Von der Leyen told reporters in Ankara after a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that the EU should engage directly with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Islamist group that led the offensive that toppled Bashar al-Assad.

“However, the lack of predictability requires extreme caution. The risk of a resurgence of DAISH (Islamic State), especially in eastern Syria, is real. We cannot allow that to happen. And Turkey's legitimate security concerns must be addressed,” she added.

Von der Leyen said the EU would increase humanitarian aid to Syria and seek to help restore basic services such as electricity, water and infrastructure.

For her part, EU diplomatic chief Kaya Kallas told the European Parliament that the bloc's representation in Syria should be opened.

“We want this delegation to be fully operational again,” Kallas said.

She said she had asked the head of the EU delegation to travel to Damascus on Monday to establish contacts with Syria's new leadership and various other groups.

The EU representation in Syria was never officially closed, but there was no accredited ambassador in Damascus during the war in Syria.