US Delegation in Syria to Meet With HTS Representatives
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RDA Gulf Correspondent - . December 20, 2024
- . Update: December 20, 2024 8:51 pm
U.S. diplomats were scheduled to arrive in Damascus on Friday to attend Washington’s first in person official meetings with Syria’s new de facto authorities led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in order to determine the former al Qaeda affiliate’s ambitions for the country.
“They will be engaging directly with the Syrian people, including members of civil society, activists, members of different communities and other Syrian voices about their vision for the future of their country and how the United States can help support them,” a State Department spokesperson said in a statement.
Officials from the Biden administration will meet with HTS members to discuss a set of principles that Washington wants incorporated in Syria’s democratic transition including inclusivity and respect for minoritie’s rights as per the State Department spokesperson.
The State Department’s top Middle East diplomat, Barbara Leaf, Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens and Senior Advisor Daniel Rubinstein who is in charge of the Department’s Syria engagement are the first U.S. diplomats to visit Damascus since Assad’s rule ended.
Washington is basically establishing a set of requirements before it will consider removing the group which is a crucial move that might facilitate the much needed sanctions relief for Damascus. Also in an effort to locate American journalist Austin Tice who was kidnapped in Damascus in 2012 authorities are looking for more information. They are also looking for Kamalmaz who disappeared in 2017 and died while being held in Syria.
In a statement it stated that a planned news conference with U.S. officials had been canceled due to security concerns but it did not elaborate with further explanations. Western governments are beginning to discuss whether to remove HTS’s group designation and are progressively opening up to the group and its leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former commander of an al Qaeda franchise in Syria.
The U.S. cut diplomatic ties with Syria and shut its embassy in the capital Damascus in 2012. Although HTS has attempted to distance itself from its history and claims to have softened, it is still listed as a terrorist organization by the State Department.
