US Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a statement to reporters on Saturday after a meeting with foreign ministers of the Arab Contact Group on Syria in the southern Jordanian city of Aqaba. Andrew Caballero Reynolds/Getty Images Hide Caption
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Andrew Caballero Reynolds/Getty Images
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a news conference in Aqaba, Jordan on Saturday that the US had “direct contact” with the Syrian rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.
“We are in contact with HTS and other parties,” Blinken said, referring to the rebels who ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from power in a blitzkrieg earlier this month. Ta.
Blinken called these discussions “direct contact.” He did not elaborate on the details of the meeting, but said he “impressed everyone with whom I have been in contact with the importance of helping the United States find Austin Tice, an American journalist who disappeared near Damascus 12 years ago.” He admitted that
Blinken’s comments are the first time a U.S. official has acknowledged contact with HTS. The Islamist group was previously affiliated with al-Qaeda and has sought to strike a more moderate tone in recent years, but the United States still considers it a terrorist organization and in May 2018 designation was given.
Blinken, who was in Jordan to talk with leaders about Syria’s future, said the United States and its partners had “agreed to a set of common principles that will guide our continued assistance to Syria and its people.” .
Blinken said the United States and its partners believe that the Syrian government transition process should be “Syrian-led and Syrian-owned,” that its people should have access to humanitarian assistance, and that the country should ” He said he also agreed with several elements, including that it should not be led by Syria. It is used as a base by terrorist organizations. ”
“We know that what is happening inside Syria, from mass displacement to terrorism, can have huge repercussions far beyond its borders. “We also know that we cannot underestimate the value of this,” he said. “Our message to the Syrian people is this: We want them to succeed and we are ready to help them do that.”
In an interview last week, HTS leader Ahmed al-Shara (formerly known as de Guerre Abu Mohammad al-Jolani) sought to allay concerns about Syria’s future under HTS leadership. I tried.
He said other countries’ concerns were “unnecessary” and expressed hope that Syria would “rebuild.”
“Our people are war-weary, so this country is not ready for another war and we don’t want to get into another one,” he told Sky News. “The root of our fear was with the Iranian militias, Hezbollah and the regime, which committed the massacres we are witnessing today. Therefore, their removal is the solution for Syria. In the current situation We cannot afford to go back to panic.”
