Western governments are expanding contacts with Syria's new leadership

2024-12-17 11:56:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Western governments are expanding contacts with Syria's new leadership

Ahmed al-Sharaa, head of HTS, the organization that took power in Syria

German and French officials will meet representatives of Syria's new governing authorities in Damascus on Tuesday, expanding Western contacts with the new administration after British diplomats met its leader Ahmed al-Sharaa late on Monday.

Nine days after Bashar al-Assad was ousted, Western states are gradually opening channels to the new authorities in Damascus led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), although they continue to consider it a terrorist group.

Late Monday, Sharaa, formerly known by the war moniker Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, met with a British foreign office delegation.

He stressed the need to restore ties and lift sanctions on Syria so that Syrian refugees can return home, Syrian state news agency SANA reported.

Photos published by SANA showed Sharaan - whose group was part of Al Qaeda until it severed ties in 2016 - sitting in a suit with an open shirt during the meeting.

It was his highest-level meeting so far with a Western government official since HTS took power.

The images underscore the geopolitical shift since Assad was ousted by HTS-led forces, a blow to Assad's Russian and Iranian allies that could pave the way for Western states to reopen contacts with Damascus.

But at least for now, any Western step requires maneuvering around both the terrorist designation imposed on HTS when it was an al Qaeda affiliate and the financial sanctions imposed on Damascus under Assad.

Sharaa "spoke about the need to build a rule of law with institutions and establish security," SANA reported.

He also spoke about Britain's important role at the international level."

Ahead of the meeting, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said Britain had sent a delegation of senior UK officials "to Damascus this week for meetings with the new Syrian interim authorities and members of civil society groups in Syria ".

German diplomats are also planning talks with HTS representatives in Damascus on Tuesday, the German foreign ministry said.

A spokesman for the German foreign ministry said the talks would focus on a transition process for Syria and the protection of minorities.

"The possibilities of a diplomatic presence in Damascus are also being explored there," the spokesman added in a statement, reiterating that Berlin was closely monitoring HTS in light of its roots in Al Qaeda ideology.

"As far as we can tell, they have been prudent so far," the spokesman said.

The Syrian conflict, which emerged from the 2011 uprising against Assad's iron-fisted rule, drove millions of Syrians out of the country as refugees, including about 1 million who went to Germany.

French diplomats are also expected to visit Damascus later on Tuesday to meet HTS representatives, French officials said.

The US State Department said on Monday that the US government has had more than one communication with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) over the past week.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Monday that the European Union should be ready to ease sanctions on Syria if the country's new leadership takes "positive steps" to establish an inclusive government and respect human rights. of women and minorities.

The new administration in Damascus has offered few details on its thinking about next steps for Syria, which is emerging from more than five decades of rule by the Assad family and nearly 14 years of devastating civil war.

Newly appointed Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir, who previously led an HTS-linked government in Idlib province, has said he will remain in office until March./REL