Western, Turkish and Arab diplomats flock to Damascus

Around a cardamom coffee at the summit of Mount Qassioun, which overlooks Damascus, Syria's new strongman, Ahmed Al-Charaa, displayed, on the evening of Sunday, December 22, his closeness with Hakan Fidan, the Minister of Affairs. Turkish foreigners. His meeting, two days earlier, with Barbara Leaf, the head of the Middle East within the American State Department, had been more discreet, but it sent a strong signal of support for the new authorities led by Hayat Tahrir Al- Cham (HTC, Levant Liberation Organization, the former branch of Al-Qaeda in Syria).

Since the fall of Bashar Al-Assad on December 8, Damascus has been the epicenter of intense diplomatic activity. Diplomats are rushing to meet the head of HTC, who has swapped his fatigues for a suit and tie – and abandoned his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammed Al-Joulani –, and is deploying his political talents with his partners and his former enemies . To each person, he gives pledges to reassure his intentions and obtain support in return, diplomatic to establish his legitimacy, and financial to rebuild Syria.

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