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US makes ‘direct contact’ with HTS rebels now in control of Syria after overthrow the Assad regimeThis was stated by the Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
This is the first acknowledgment of direct US contact with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which the US currently still designates as a terrorist organization.
Blinken spoke in Jordan after talks with representatives of several Arab countries, Turkey and Europe to discuss the future of Syria.
Officials agreed to support a peaceful transition in the country, and Jordan’s foreign minister said regional authorities did not want it to “descend into chaos.”
The joint communique called for an inclusive Syrian government that respects the rights of minorities and does not provide a base for “terrorist groups.”
The talks, both inside and outside Syria, following the turbulent events of recent weeks, have been vital to building a new administration that represents all Syrians.
At a meeting in Jordan, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein expressed concern about the future of Syria, which is divided into the Middle East and beyond.
He said regional players do not want to see another Libya – referring to the chaos that has ensued since the ouster of Colonel Gaddafi.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that the existing Syrian institutions should be preserved and reformed.
“Never allow terrorism to take advantage of the transition period. And we must coordinate our efforts and learn from the mistakes of the past,” Fidan said, according to Reuters.
The most powerful rebel group, HTS, has indicated that it is committed to an inclusive government. But the group’s violent jihadist past has left some doubting whether it will follow through on those promises.
Blinken said that Washington had been in direct contact with HTS – particularly regarding the fate of long-missing American journalist Austin Tice.
“We have been in contact with HTS and other parties,” Blinken told reporters in Jordan.
No Syrian representative was present at the talks in Jordan. The foreign ministers of eight Arab countries, who attended the meeting, said they wanted to guarantee the unity of Syria, not a split along sectarian lines.
Two countries that provided Assad with financial support, which allowed him to stay in power for so long, were also absent: Iran and Russia.
The shadow of all the external forces that have fought for Syria for so long hangs heavily over the country’s future.
The new political formations in Syria will need cohesion not only within the country, but also beyond it, if the Syrian people have any real hope of building on the heady taste of freedom they experienced last week.
Syrian rebels ended the 24-year rule of Bashar al-Assad, opposition forces took the capital and forced the president to flee to Russia on December 8.
The overthrow followed a 13-year civil war that began after Assad’s crackdown on pro-democracy protests. The fighting killed more than half a million people, forced millions more to leave their places, and involved international powers and their proxies.
HTS rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, who previously used this name Abu Mohammed al-Jolaniappointed Mohammed al-Bashir Interim Prime Minister of Syriaand now the world is watching how the political landscape of Syria will change after the end of half a century of rule of the Assad family.