ReutersAfter the US collapsed Syria, it made ‘direct contact’ with the HTS rebels who are currently in control. assad regimeSecretary of State Antony Blinken said.
This is the first time the United States has acknowledged that it had direct contact with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which the United States currently designates as a terrorist organization.
Blinken spoke from Jordan following talks with representatives of several Arab countries, Turkey and Europe to discuss the future of Syria.
The officials agreed to support Jordan’s peaceful transition process, with Jordan’s foreign minister saying regional powers did not want the country to “fall into chaos.”
The joint statement called for an inclusive Syrian government that respects the rights of minorities and does not provide a platform for “terrorist groups.”
After the tumultuous events of recent weeks, the dialogue held inside and outside Syria has been critical to establishing a new governance system that represents all Syrians.
At the Jordan meeting, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein expressed concerns about Syria’s future that are shared across the Middle East and beyond.
He said regional players do not want to see another Libya. This is a reference to the chaos that followed Colonel Gaddafi’s fall from power.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said existing Syrian institutions must be preserved and reformed.
“Do not allow terrorism to take advantage of the transition period, and we must coordinate our efforts and learn from past mistakes,” Fidan said, according to Reuters.
Meanwhile, Israel has launched dozens more airstrikes against Syria despite regional condemnation, according to a war monitor.
Israel said before He was taking steps to ‘destroy strategic capabilities’ that threatened him.
HTS, the most powerful rebel group, has said it seeks an inclusive government. But the group’s violent jihadist past has raised questions about whether it will keep that promise.
Blinken said Washington has been in direct contact with HTS, particularly regarding the fate of long-missing U.S. journalist Austin Tice.
“We have been in contact with HTS and other parties,” Blinken told reporters in Jordan.
There was not a single Syrian representative missing from the Jordan talks. Foreign ministers from eight Arab countries who attended the meeting said they wanted Syria to be unified rather than divided along sectarian lines.
Also absent were Iran and Russia, which provided financial support that allowed Assad to remain in power for so long.
The shadow of all the external forces fighting over Syria for so long hangs heavily over the country’s future.
If the Syrian people are to build any real hope of building on the taste of freedom they experienced last week, Syria’s emerging political groups will need solidarity not only within the country but also outside it.
ReutersSyrian rebels ended Bashar al-Assad’s 24-year rule, seizing the capital and forcing the president to flee to Russia on December 8.
The overthrow follows a 13-year civil war that began after Assad suppressed pro-democracy protests. The fighting has killed more than half a million people, displaced millions, and implicated international powers and their proxies.
HTS rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa previously used this name. Abu Mohammed Al JolaniAppointed Mohammed al-Bashir. interim prime minister of syriaAnd the world is now watching to see how Syria’s political landscape will shape up after the Assad family’s half-century of rule ends.
HTS was founded under a different name, Jabhat Al NusraIn 2011, it became a direct affiliate of Al Qaeda. It was considered one of the most effective and lethal groups opposing President Assad.
It has been and remains banned as a terrorist group by the United Nations, the United States, Türkiye, and other countries.
But al-Sharaa has publicly broken ties with al Qaeda, and HTS’s recent message has been one of inclusiveness and a rejection of violence or revenge.
