Ccommunication established. “We have been in contact with HTS and other parties,” Antony Blinken told reporters after discussions on Syria in Aqaba, Jordan on Saturday.
These discussions brought together Arab, European and Turkish diplomats which should, according to him, lead to a joint declaration: “We agreed that the transition process must be led and controlled by the Syrians themselves and result in an inclusive and representative government “, he said. “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.
Antony Blinken did not give further details on the circumstances of these exchanges with the HTS in Syria, other than to specify that it was indeed a “direct” contact, which was part, among other things, of the efforts aimed at locating Austin Tice, an American journalist kidnapped in 2012 at the start of the civil war in Syria.
The concerns of the international community
The United States Secretary of State thus closed a regional tour which took him to Türkiye, Iraq and Jordan, countries neighboring Syria. HTS, led by Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, claims to have broken with jihadism but remains classified as “terrorist” by several Western capitals, including Washington.
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”. In Aqaba, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also called for an “inclusive” political process to form the next government.
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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”.
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In Damascus, where Turkey, a major player in the conflict in Syria and support of the new authorities, has just reopened its embassy after more than 12 years of closure, traffic police were deployed in the streets of the city this Saturday, where municipal employees clean the roads. Most businesses have reopened, including the famous al-Hamidiyé souk in old Damascus.
In northeast Syria, the United States maintains about 900 troops and supports the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which defeated the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group during the war, installed an autonomous administration and welcomed the fall of Bashar al-Assad.
