US has been in contact with Syrian rebel group that ousted Assad, Blinken says
Diplomats from the US, the UN and Arab countries met in Jordan where they agreed on a set of principles they want Syria's new government to sign up to
The United States has been in direct contact with the Syrian rebel group that spearheaded the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad’s government, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said.
Blinken is the first US official to publicly confirm contacts between the Biden administration and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is designated a terrorist group by both the US and UK.
HTS led the coalition of armed opposition groups that ousted the president last Sunday, ending the 50-year Assad family regime in Syria.
Blinken confirmed the contact with HTS at a news conference in Aqaba, Jordan, on Saturday, after top diplomats from the US, the Arab League and Turkey met to discuss how to assist Syria’s transition. No Syrian representatives attended.
The US secretary of state would not discuss details of the contacts but said it was important for the US to convey messages to the group about its conduct and how it intends to govern in a transition period.
“Yes, we have been in contact with HTS and with other parties,” Blinken said. “Our message to the Syrian people is this: We want them to succeed and we’re prepared to help them do so.”
HTS were proscribed by the UK government in 2017 because its leader Abu Mohammed al-Golani, now reverting to his legal name, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has historical links to Al-Qaeda and the late ISIS leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
al-Sharaa fought for al-Qaeda in Iraq - back then the group was known as the Nusra Front.
He cut ties with al-Qaeda in 2016 and has since tried to shift HTS towards a more tolerant ideology.
Under the Terrorism Act 2000, the home secretary can proscribe an organisation if they believe it commits or participates in, prepares for, promotes or encourages, or is otherwise concerned with terrorism, and if it is proportionate to do so.
Because HTS are proscribed, the UK government is unable to engage with them - which raises difficult questions for the relationship between the UK and Syria.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Monday it was "too early" to reconsider its proscription as a terrorist organisation in the UK.
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Pat McFadden, had previously said the government would "consider" removing the group and said a decision needed to be taken quickly.
Contradicting McFadden hours later, Starmer said: "No decision is pending at all on this. It is far too early at the moment."
In the US, HTS has been designed as a foreign terrorist organisation by the State Department since 2018.
That designation carries with it severe sanctions, including a ban on the provision of any “material support” to the group or its members. The sanctions do not, however, legally bar US officials from communicating with designated groups.
HTS has worked to establish security and start a political transition after seizing Damascus and has tried to reassure the public both stunned by Assad’s fall and concerned about extremist jihadis among the rebels. Insurgent leaders say the group has broken with its extremist past.
Ahmad al-Sharaa appeared in a video message Friday congratulating “the great Syrian people for the victory of the blessed revolution.”US officials say Sharaa has been making welcome comments about protecting minority and women’s rights but remain sceptical that he will follow through on them in the long run.
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