US officials in ‘direct contact’ with victorious Syria rebels happymamay

The United States has made “direct contacts” with the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham rebels, who now control Syria after their overthrow. Assad regimeSecretary of State Antony Blinken said.

This is the first acknowledgment of direct American contact with Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, which the United States currently still classifies as a terrorist organization.

Blinken was speaking 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, with Jordan’s foreign minister saying regional powers did not want to see it “descend into chaos.”

A joint statement called for the formation of a comprehensive Syrian government that respects the rights of minorities and does not provide a base for “terrorist groups.”

The talk inside and outside Syria after the turbulent events of recent weeks has been about the vital importance of establishing a new government that represents all Syrians.

At the meeting held in Jordan, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein expressed his concern about Syria’s common future in the Middle East and beyond.

He said that regional players do not want to see another Libya, referring to the chaos that followed the removal of Colonel Gaddafi from power.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that existing Syrian institutions must be preserved and reformed.

Fidan said, according to Reuters news agency, “Never allow terrorism to exploit the transitional period. We must coordinate our efforts and learn from the mistakes of the past.”

The most powerful rebel group, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, has indicated that it seeks to form an inclusive government. But the group’s violent jihadist past has left some doubts about whether it will deliver on those promises.

Blinken said Washington had been in direct contact with HTS – particularly about the fate of long-missing American journalist, Austin Tice.

Blinken told reporters in Jordan: “We have been in contact with Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham and other parties.”

No representative from Syria was absent from the talks in Jordan. The foreign ministers of eight Arab countries who attended the meeting said that they wanted to ensure the unification of Syria and not divide it along sectarian lines.

Also absent were the two countries that provided financial support to Assad and enabled him to remain in power for a long time – Iran and Russia.

The shadow of all the outside powers that fought for Syria for so long hangs heavy over the country’s future.

Syria’s emerging political entities will need to cohere not only inside the country but also outside it if the Syrian people are to have any real hope of building on the taste of freedom they experienced last week.

Syrian rebels ended the 24-year rule of Bashar al-Assad, with opposition forces seizing control of the capital and forcing the president to flee to Russia on 8 December.

The president’s ouster followed a 13-year civil war, which began after Assad crushed pro-democracy protests. The fighting led to the deaths of more than half a million people, the displacement of millions more, and the involvement of international powers and their agents.

Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, who previously used the name Abu Muhammad Al-JulaniMuhammad Al-Bashir was appointed Interim Syrian Prime MinisterThe world is now watching to see how the political scene in Syria will take shape after the end of the Assad family’s half-century rule.