# Randa Kassis

Randa Kassis (Arabic: رندة قسيس) is a Franco-Syrian politician. During the Syrian civil war, she was until 2012 a member of the Syrian National Council. Kassis' husband, Fabien Baussart, is the founder of the think tank Center of Political and Foreign Affairs which has strong ties to Russia. He is known in France for his close Kremlin and Russian business connections Kassis chaired peace talks in Astana, Kazakhstan.

## Biography

Kassis is an anthropologistand a former commentator on cultural, political, and societal topics. During her time in France, she appeared on French television and radio channels, including France Télévisions, France 2 and France 5 (C dans l’air), France 24, RFI, and France Culture.
Kassis was a member of the Syrian National Council until August 2012. In 2011, she became the chairwoman of the Coalition of Secular and Democratic Syrians, a Paris-based group formed by the union of Muslim, Christian, Arab and Kurdish parties who called on minorities in Syria to support the fight against Bashar al-Assad's government.
Following her expulsion from SNC (Syrian National Council) and the Coalition of Secular and Democratic Syrians due to her warnings about the growing influence of Islamist groups in Syria,Kassis founded another group, the Movement of Pluralistic Society.
In 2015, Kassis initiated the Astana Platform to establish a platform that could assemble moderate Syrian opponents. Kassis initiative were viewed as a constructive effort to facilitate dialogue, others expressed criticism, citing concerns over her perceived close ties with Russia. Later on 30 January 2018, Kassis, and other members of the Astana platform, participated as a member of the presidential committee in the Syrian National Congress. She emphasized the importance of creating a constitutional committee to facilitate the peace process in Syria.
Kassis has expressed support for the Russian intervention in Syria. She met with Donald Trump Jr. in Paris in 2016. The meeting was later mentioned by the House Intelligence Committee as part of their examination of contacts between Donald Trump's associates and individuals linked to Russian interests.Kassis who is a close friend of Sergey Lavrov. attended an event at the hotel Ritz Paris on 11 October 2016, few days before the US elections, where Donald Trump Jr., delivered a speech for the CPFA in the Louis XV Salon, later, she allegedly traveled to Moscow, claiming she could act as a secret communication channel between the Trump administration and Vladimir Putin on Syria’s political process
Kassis participated in the 2016 Geneva Peace Talks as part of the Moscow/Astana group. She served as co-president, alongside Qadri Jamil. Her advocacy for a political transition involving cooperation with al-Assad's regime and her support for the Russian intervention in the civil war drew criticism from some members of the Syrian opposition.
In 2017, Kassis invited members of the Syrian opposition, academics and constitutional experts - with the assistance of French constitutionalist Xavier Latour, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey Yasar Yakis and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy Giulio Terzi, to begin drafting a new constitution for Syria.
In October 2018, Kassis worked to include various political factions of the opposition to develop a roadmap for peace. The document was drafted by opposition representatives invited to Rome by Sant'Egidio, an organization close to the Vatican.
In January 2025, Kassis returned to Damascus where she met with the Patriarch John X and Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijiri, the spiritual leader of the Druze community, to discuss Syria’s future. She expressed her opposition to Ahmed al-Sharaa and the new Syrian authorities, which she described as a "radical regime" that may lead to another dictatorship and a new civil war.

## Personal

Kassis is married to French businessman Fabien Baussart.