Blinken publicly confirms U.S. officers have been in direct contact with the Syrian insurgent group that ousted Assad

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated Saturday that American officers have been in direct contact with the Syrian insurgent group that spearheaded the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad’s authorities however is designated a international terrorist group by america and others.

Blinken is the primary U.S. official to publicly verify contacts between the Biden administration and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, which led a coalition of armed opposition teams that ousted Assad from energy final Sunday.

Talking at a information convention in Aqaba, Jordan, Blinken wouldn’t talk about particulars of the contacts however stated it was essential for the U.S. to convey messages to the group about its conduct and the way it intends to control in a transition interval.

“Sure, now we have been involved with HTS and with different events,” Blinken stated. He added that “our message to the Syrian individuals is that this: We would like them to succeed and we’re ready to assist them achieve this.”

Blinken additionally stated that officers are “additionally speaking immediately with these in positions of authority in Syria.” 

HTS, which was as soon as an affiliate of al-Qaida, has been designed as a international terrorist group by the State Division since 2018. That designation carries with it extreme sanctions, together with a ban on the availability of any “materials help” to the group or its members. The sanctions don’t, nevertheless, legally bar U.S. officers from speaking with designated teams.

In an interview Saturday on Syrian tv, the group’s chief, Ahmad al-Sharaa, previously often called Abu Mohammed al-Golani, didn’t tackle any direct contact with america, however stated the brand new authorities in Damascus, the capital, are in contact with Western embassies.

HTS has labored to ascertain safety and begin a political transition after seizing Damascus and has tried to reassure a public each surprised by Assad’s fall and anxious about extremist jihadis among the many rebels. Rebel leaders say the group has damaged with its extremist previous.

Al-Sharaa appeared in a video message Friday congratulating “the nice Syrian individuals for the victory of the blessed revolution.”

U.S. officers say al-Sharaa has been making welcome feedback about defending minority and girls’s rights however stay skeptical that he’ll observe by means of on them in the long term.

“We all know that what occurs inside Syria can have highly effective penalties nicely past its borders, from mass displacement to terrorism, and we all know that we will not underestimate the challenges of this second and within the weeks and months forward,” Blinken stated Saturday. 

On Friday, the rebels and Syria’s unarmed opposition labored to soundly flip over to U.S. officers an American man who had been imprisoned by Assad.

Blinken stated U.S. officers are persevering with “our personal dogged, decided efforts” as they seek for Austin Tice, an American journalist who disappeared 12 years in the past close to Damascus.

“We’ve impressed upon everybody we have been involved with the significance of serving to discover Austin Tice and bringing him house,” Blinken stated.

Travis Timmerman, the American who stated he was free of a Syrian jail after Assad’s ouster, was taken overseas by the U.S. navy, CBS Information reported earlier this week.