Syria: the United States has established “direct contact” with the new masters of Damascus

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Saturday that his country had established “direct contact” with Hayat Tahrir al-sham (HTC), the Islamist group at the head of the coalition that seized power in Syria, leading to the fall of Bashar al-Assad.

Turkey, a major player in the conflict in Syria and support of the new authorities, has also reopened its embassy in Damascus after more than 12 years of closure.

“Syrians themselves”

Following an 11-day offensive, a coalition of rebel factions led by the radical Sunni group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTC) captured much of the country from government forces on December 8, ending a half-year -century of power of the Assad family. HTC, led by Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, claims to have broken with jihadism but remains classified as “terrorist” by several Western capitals, including Washington.

“We have been in contact with the HTC and other parties,” Antony Blinken told reporters after discussions on Syria in Aqaba, Jordan. He did not give further details on the circumstances of these exchanges but when asked if the United States had had a direct link, he replied: “Direct contact, yes.” Antony Blinken specified that this contact was notably part of efforts to locate Austin Tice, an American journalist kidnapped in 2012 at the start of the civil war in Syria.

The Secretary of State was wrapping up a regional tour that took him to Türkiye, Iraq and Jordan, countries neighboring Syria. In Aqaba, Antony Blinken participated in discussions bringing together Arab, European and Turkish diplomats which he said would lead to a joint declaration affirming: “We agreed that the transition process must be led and controlled by the Syrians themselves and achieve an inclusive and representative government. “The rights of all Syrians, including those of minorities and women, must be respected. Humanitarian aid must reach the people who need it,” he added.

“Peaceful transition”

Also present in Jordan, Geir Pedersen, the UN special envoy for Syria, called for work to avoid “the collapse of Syrian institutions”, and the foreign ministers of eight Arab countries to lead a transition ” peaceful”.

Faced with concerns from the international community, the new Prime Minister in charge of the transition until March 1, Mohammad al-Bashir, promised this week a rule of law and to “guarantee the rights of all”.

In Damascus, Turkey reopened its embassy on Saturday in the presence of new head of mission Burhan Koroglu, according to an AFP journalist. The chancellery closed in March 2012, a year after the start of the civil war in Syria, triggered by the repression of pro-democracy demonstrations, and after calls from the Turkish government for the resignation of Bashar al-Assad. Since 2016, Turkey has exercised considerable influence over northern Syria, maintaining relations with HTC which launched its offensive against power from Idlib (northwest), its stronghold.

Israeli bombings

Lebanese Hezbollah said it hoped that the new authorities would not normalize their relations with Israel, the sworn enemy of the pro-Iranian Shiite movement. He further indicated that his movement, which notably brought in its weapons via the Syrian-Lebanese border, could no longer be supplied via Syria.

The head of HTC, Ahmad al-Chareh, Jolani by his nom de guerre, denounced on Saturday the incursion of Israeli troops into the south of the territory after the fall of Assad but affirmed that his country was too “exhausted” by the war to engage in a new conflict.

Israel, Syria’s southern neighbor, carried out new strikes on “military sites of the former regime” in Damascus and its suburbs, destroying a scientific institute and a “military airport”, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. man (OSDH). The strikes also targeted “ballistic missile warehouses” and rocket launchers in Qalamoun, on the outskirts of Damascus, the OSDH added. These raids aim to “destroy what remains of the military capabilities of the next Syrian army”, according to the Observatory.