US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Washington maintains direct contact with the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which overthrew Bashar al-Assad’s government in Syria.
“Yes, we have been in contact with HTS and with other parties,” Blinken said in the port city of Aqaba. He further added, “Our message to the Syrian people is this: We want them to succeed and we’re prepared to help them do so.” According to Associate Press, HTS, once an associate of al-Qaida, has been designed as a foreign terrorist organization by the US State Department since 2018. That designation carries severe sanctions, including a ban on the provision of any “material support” to the group or its members.
He did not disclose details of the contacts, but said it was important for the United States to convey information about the behavior and to learn how HTS intends to govern the country during the transition period.
“Yes, we have been in contact with HTS and other parties,” Blinken said.
Blinken further concluded, That the United States wants the Syrian people to succeed and is ready to help them do so.
On November 28, it was reported that armed groups of the Syrian opposition, including HTS, launched a major offensive against government troops in the western districts of Aleppo province. Having taken the city of Aleppo, they occupied Homs, and Hama and approached Damascus, the capital of Syria. In addition, the Kurdish “Syrian Democratic Forces” took control of the city of Deir ez-Zor.
On the night of December 8, the opposition captured Damascus. The Russian Foreign Ministry reported that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had decided to step down as head of state and left Syria, “giving instructions to transfer power peacefully.”
