ReutersThe US has made “direct contact” with the HTS rebels who now control Syria after the coup Assad's regimesaid Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
This is the first time that the US has acknowledged direct contact with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which the US currently designates as a terrorist organization.
Blinken was speaking in Jordan after talks with representatives of several Arab countries, Turkey and Europe to discuss the future of Syria.
Officials have agreed to support the plan to bring about peaceful reforms in the country, the foreign minister in Jordan said that the sub-regional countries do not want to see it “fall into the crowd”.
The joint meeting called for an inclusive Syrian government that respects the rights of minorities and does not provide a base for “terrorist groups”.
The discourse inside and outside of Syria after the events of recent weeks has been critical to the establishment of a new governance that represents all Syrians.
At the meeting in Jordan, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein expressed concern about the future of Syria that is shared throughout the Middle East and beyond.
He said regional players did not want to see another Libya – referring to the chaos that occurred after Colonel Gaddafi was removed from office.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that existing Syrian institutions must be preserved and repaired.
“Never let terrorism take advantage of the transition period. And we must coordinate our efforts and learn from the mistakes of the past,” Fidan said according to Reuters news agency.
Meanwhile, Israel has launched a series of airstrikes against Syria, according to a military monitor, despite the region's condemnation.
Israel you say before it was taking action to “destroy the tactical power” of the threat.
The most powerful rebel group, HTS, has expressed its desire for an inclusive government. But the jihadist group's violent past has left doubts that it will deliver on these promises.
Blinken said Washington has been in direct contact with HTS – particularly regarding the fate of long-lost American journalist Austin Tice.
“We have been in contact with HTS and other groups,” Blinken told reporters in Jordan.
Absent from the Jordanian talks was any representative from Syria. Foreign ministers from eight Arab countries who came to the meeting said they want to make sure that Syria is united and not divided between sects.
Also absent were the two countries that supported Assad financially which enabled him to continue in power for a long time – Iran and Russia.
The reputation of all foreign forces fighting for Syria for a long time hangs heavily on the country's future.
The emerging political parties in Syria will need to unite not only within the country but also abroad, if there is to be any real hope for the Syrian people to build on the hot taste of freedom they have experienced in the past week.
ReutersSyrian rebels ended Bashar al-Assad's 24-year rule, and opposition forces seized the capital and forced the president to flee to Russia on 8 December.
Its overthrow followed a 13-year civil war, which began after Assad crushed pro-democracy protests. The war killed more than half a million people, displaced millions more, and brought together international powers and their proxies.
HTS rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, who once used the term Abu Mohammed al-Jolaniappointed Mohammed al-Bashir as Interim prime minister of Syriaand the world is now looking to see what the political situation in Syria looks like after the end of the century of rule of the Assad family.
HTS was organized under a different name, Jabhat al-Nusrain 2011 as a direct affiliate of al-Qaeda. It was considered one of the most effective and deadly groups opposing President Assad.
It was banned as a terrorist group by the UN, US, Turkey and other countries – and still remains so.
But al-Sharaa has publicly broken ranks with al-Qaeda and HTS's recent messages have been one of unity and a rejection of violence or retaliation.
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