US confirms it is in ‘direct contact’ with Syrian rebel group
The US has made “direct contact” with the Syrian rebel group HTS, which led the attack and brought down Assad regimeSecretary of State Antony Blinken has said.
This was the first acknowledgment of direct US contact with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which the US still designates as a terrorist organization.
Blinken was speaking in Jordan after talks with representatives of several Arab countries, Türkiye and Europe to discuss the future of Syria.
Officials agreed to support a peaceful transition process in the country. Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said regional powers do not want Syria “to descend into a state of chaos”.
A joint communiqué called for an inclusive Syrian government that respects the rights of minorities and does not provide a base for “terrorist groups”.
Following the tumultuous events of recent weeks, talks both inside and outside Syria remain vital to establishing a new regime that represents all Syrians.
At the meeting in Jordan, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein expressed concern over Syria’s shared future in the Middle East and beyond.
Referring to the chaos that followed the ouster of Colonel Gaddafi from power, he said regional players did not want to see another Libya.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said existing Syrian institutions should be preserved and reformed.
According to news agency Reuters, Fidan said, “Never allow terrorism to take advantage of the transition period. And we have to coordinate our efforts and learn from the mistakes of the past.”
HTS, the most powerful rebel group, has indicated it is demanding an inclusive government. But the group’s violent jihadist past has left some skeptical about whether it will live up to such promises.
Blinken has said Washington is in direct contact with HTS – particularly on the fate of long-missing US journalist Austin Tice.
“We are in contact with HTS and other parties,” Blinken told reporters in Jordan.
No representative of Syria was missing from the talks in Jordan. The foreign ministers of the eight Arab countries who attended the meeting said they wanted to ensure that Syria was unified and not divided on sectarian lines.
Also absent were the two countries that had provided financial support to Assad that allowed him to remain in power for so long – Iran and Russia.
The shadow of all the external powers that have fought over Syria for so long looms large over the country’s future.
The emerging political institutions in Syria will require solidarity not only inside the country but also outside if there is to be any real hope for Syrians to regain the heady taste of freedom they have experienced over the past week.
