After Washington on Saturday, London affirmed this Sunday, December 15, that it had “diplomatic contacts” with the HTS group which “remains a banned terrorist organization” (in the United Kingdom),” according to British Foreign Minister David Lammy.
Foreign chancelleries, initially cautious, increased their efforts this Sunday, December 15, to establish contact with the new Islamist power in Syria, a week after the fall of Bashar al-Assad.
Visiting Syria, UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen met with Abu Muhammad al-Jolani, leader of the radical Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), who heads the coalition of groups rebels who ousted Bashar al-Assad from power, the coalition announced on its Telegram channel.
They discussed “changes occurring on the political scene, which make it necessary to update” UN Security Council Resolution 2254, according to the same source. This resolution adopted in 2015 establishes a road map for a political settlement in Syria.
“We must ensure that Syria receives increased immediate humanitarian aid for the population and for all refugees who wish to return,” Geir Pedersen, whose visit is the first by a senior Syria official, said earlier in the day. the UN since Assad fled to Russia.
On December 8, the rebel coalition entered Damascus and announced the overthrow of power, after a dazzling offensive which allowed it to seize a large part of the country in 11 days. Abandoned by his Iranian and Russian allies, Bashar al-Assad fled to Moscow.
“We can have diplomatic contacts”
HTS, the former Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda, claims to have broken with jihadism but remains classified as “terrorist” by several Western capitals, including Washington.
Several countries and organizations had welcomed the fall of Assad, but said they were waiting to see how the new authorities, Sunni Muslims, would treat the minorities of the multi-ethnic and multi-religious country.
In the meantime, several have announced that they have established contact with them. After Washington on Saturday, the United Kingdom announced on Sunday that it had established “diplomatic contacts” with HTS.
HTS “remains a banned terrorist organization (in the United Kingdom), but we can have diplomatic contacts,” British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said.
For its part, France announced the sending of a diplomatic mission to Damascus on Tuesday, the first in 12 years, to “establish initial contacts” with the new authorities. Doha, for its part, announced the reopening of its embassy in Syria on Tuesday after the arrival on Sunday of a Qatari delegation in the country where it met the new authorities.
Turkey, a major player in the conflict in Syria and support of the new authorities, had already reopened its embassy in Damascus on Saturday after more than 12 years of closure.
After 50 years of unchallenged rule by the Assad clan and relentless repression, the new authorities are working to reassure the international community. The new Prime Minister in charge of the transition, Mohammad al-Bashir, has promised to “guarantee the rights of all” as Syrians try to resume their normal lives.
