US spoke directly with Syrian rebel government, Blinken says
The U.S. has had direct talks with the rebel group that took power in Syria, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Saturday in Jordan, as he wrapped up a Middle East trip focused on the way forward after the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime.
Blinken also held out the prospect of sanctions relief, saying the U.S. “will look at various sanctions and other measures we’ve taken and respond in kind” as Syria’s post-Assad transition meets goals laid out by the U.S., Blinken told reporters in Aqaba.
U.S. officials have spoken directly with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, as well as other groups, on a set of principles the U.S. and Arab partners want to guide Syria’s political transition as well as the importance of finding missing U.S. journalist Austin Tice, Blinken said.
“Yes, we’ve been in contact with HTS and other parties — we’ve impressed upon everyone we’ve been in contact with the importance of helping find Austin Tice and bringing him home, and we’ve also shared the principles that I just laid out,” Blinken said.
The Biden administration has warned Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an Islamist offshoot of al-Qaida that has projected a more moderate image since ascending to power in Syria, that it could end up internationally isolated if it doesn’t abide by principles laid out by the U.S. and others.
Those include protecting and allowing aid to reach all of Syria’s minorities, preventing Syria’s territory from being used to menace neighboring countries, and securing or destroying Assad’s chemical weapons stockpiles.
If the new government abides by those principles and forms an “inclusive” government representing all Syrians, Blinken has said, the U.S. is prepared to recognize Hayat Tahrir al-Sham — a U.S.-designated terrorist group — as the legitimate government of Syria.
That would allow for broader diplomatic recognition and could eventually enable relief from U.S. sanctions.
The U.S., the European Union, Turkey and numerous Arab states issued a joint statement later Saturday calling for an end to hostilities in Syria and saying the country can end its international isolation if it abides by principles agreed on at Aqaba.
The U.N. must be allowed to scale up humanitarian activities in Syria, while the new government must protect diplomatic facilities, according to the statement.
Blinken spoke after senior U.S. and United Nations officials met with foreign ministers from across the Middle East to discuss Syria’s future as countries seek a unified approach to its political upheaval and violence.
Blinken, who has traveled across the region in recent days, spoke at the meeting which featured officials from Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar.
In a statement after the meeting, the Arab countries called for an end to the fighting in Syria and called for the formation of an “inclusive” government. The group also condemned Israel’s incursions into a buffer zone with Syria.
