US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Saturday that US officials have been in direct contact with the Syrian rebel group that led the oust President Bashar al-Assad government but is designated a foreign terrorist organization by the United States and others.
Blinken is the first US official to publicly confirm ties between the Biden administration and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, which led a coalition of armed opposition groups that he removed Assad from power this past sunday.
Speaking at a news conference in Aqaba, Jordan, Blinken would not discuss details of the contacts but said it was important for the US to send messages to the group about its behavior and how they intend to manage in a transition period.
“Yes, we have been in contact with HTS and other parties,” said Blinken. He added that “our message to the Syrian people is: We want them to succeed and we are willing to help them with to do that.”
Blinken also said officials are “also in direct contact with those in positions of authority in Syria.” ”
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
HTS, a former affiliate of al-Qaida, has been designated a foreign terrorist organization by the State Department since 2018. That designation carries tough sanctions, including a ban on “material support ” to the group. or its members. The sanctions, however, do not legally prevent US officials from communicating with designated groups.
In an interview on Saturday on Syrian television, the leader of the group, Ahmad al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, did not speak of any direct contact with the United States, but the new authorities said in Damascusthe capital, in communication with Western embassies.
HTS has worked to establish security and initiate a political movement after capturing Damascus and he has tried to reassure a public shocked by the fall of Assad and worried about extremist jihadis among the rebels. Terrorist leaders say the group has broken with the past.
Al-Sharaa appeared in a video message on Friday congratulating “the great Syrian people for the victory of the blessed revolution.”
US officials say that al-Sharaa has been welcoming ideas about protecting the rights of minorities and women, but they remain skeptical that it will continue in the long term.
“We know that what happens inside Syria can have powerful effects far beyond its borders, from mass mobilization to terrorism, and we know that we cannot underestimate the challenges of the this time and in the weeks and months ahead,” Blinken said Saturday.
On Friday, the rebels and unarmed Syrian opposition worked to safely turn over an American jailed by Assad to US officials.
Blinken said US officials are following “our strong, determined efforts” as they seek Austin Ticean American journalist who disappeared 12 years ago near Damascus.
“We've impressed upon everyone we've come in contact with how important it is to help find Austin Tice and bring him home,” Blinken said.
Travis Timmerman, the American who said he had been released from a Syrian prison after Assad ouster, he was taken out of the country by the US military, CBS News reported earlier this week.
