Blinken says US has made ‘direct contact’ with Syria’s victorious HTS rebel group

(AFP): The United States has made “direct contact” with Syria’s victorious Hayat Tahrir al-Sham rebels despite designating the group as terrorists, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Saturday, as he sought international unity on a peaceful transition.

“We’ve been in contact with HTS and with other parties,” Blinken told reporters after talks on Syria in the Jordanian Red Sea resort of Aqaba.

He did not give details on how the contact took place but when asked if the United States reached out directly, he said: “Direct contact — yes.”

Blinken said that the contact was partly related to the search for Austin Tice, the US journalist who was kidnapped in 2012 near the start of the brutal civil war. “We have pressed upon everyone we’ve been in contact with the importance of helping find Austin Tice and bringing him home,” Blinken said.

He said that in the dialogue with HTS the US also “shared the principles” on Syria that he has publicly laid out.

‘Inclusive and representative’

Blinken was closing a regional tour in which he sought common ground after HTS overthrew Bashar al-Assad, whose family ruled with an iron fist for half a century.

In Aqaba, Blinken took part in talks that brought together top Arab and European diplomats as well as Turkey, the main supporter of rebel groups in Syria.

Blinken said the talks would issue a joint statement in which “we agreed that the transition process should be Syrian-led and Syrian-owned and produce an inclusive and representative government”.

“The rights of all Syrians, including minorities and women, should be respected. Humanitarian aid should be able to reach people who need it,” Blinken said.

Blinken said that the talks also agreed that “state institutions” should continue to deliver essential services.

UN Syria envoy Geir Pedersen earlier told Blinken: “We need to make sure that state institutions do not collapse, and that we get in humanitarian assistance as quickly as possible.”

Terror designation

The US and other Western governments classify HTS as a terrorist group due to its roots in Al-Qaeda’s Syria branch.

The designation severely impedes the activities of businesses and aid workers who risk falling foul of US law enforcement if they are seen as directly supporting a terrorist group.

Since seizing power last weekend, rebel leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani has spoken in conciliatory terms about making peace with the broad spectrum of Syrian society. Some analysts note that HTS has not focused on US or other Western targets.

Few expect a quick move by the US to lift the terrorist designation, especially with a political transition set next month following Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election.

In Britain, a senior minister said that the government would decide quickly whether to remove the terrorist designation but Prime Minister Keir Starmer walked back the comments, saying it was still “far too early” to do so.

Blinken said that he found hope in the street celebrations in Syrian cities in recent days. “No one has any illusions about how challenging this time will be, but there’s also something incredibly powerful — the Syrian people determined to break with the past and shape a better future,” he said.

He also hailed the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) for raising the new “independence” flag of the rebels, after for years flying their own flag as they achieved limited self-rule.

Blinken said it was for Syrians to decide how to incorporate Kurds in the country but he hailed SDF fighters — who are bitterly opposed by Turkiye — for their role in fighting the banned militant Islamic State group.