Governments worldwide are stepping up efforts to engage with Syria's new interim rulers, just over a week after Islamist-led rebels ousted president Bashar al-Assad, ending decades of brutal rule and civil war.
The lightning offensive that captured the capital Damascus on December 8 led to celebrations across the country and beyond.
At Damascus university on Sunday, Yasmin Shehab told AFP that she and fellow students felt "optimistic".
"We feel liberated, and the chains have been broken," she said. "Fear has been shattered."