Ahmed al-Sharaa, the de facto new ruler of Syria, met with senior US diplomats in Damascus on Friday. They discussed Syria’s political transition in a “good” and “very productive” meeting and agreed to lift the bounty on his head.
Al-Sharaa “came across as pragmatic” in their first face-to-face encounter with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham leaders since the former al Qaeda affiliate ousted Syria’s longtime President Bashar al-Assad two weeks ago, Barbara Leaf, the State Department’s top Middle East diplomat, told reporters.
It was a successful first encounter. In a briefing, Leaf, who led the US delegation, stated that the US officials reaffirmed their commitment to an inclusive new government in Syria, adding that “we will judge by the deeds, not just by words.” Additionally, it should guarantee that terrorist organizations cannot be a threat, she said.
Leaf remarked, “Ahmed al-Sharaa committed to this.” “So, based on our discussion, I told him we would not be pursuing rewards for justice,” she said, alluding to the $10 million the US sought to apprehend the HTS leader.
Although many Syrians, the United States, and other Western nations were pleased to see HTS-led militias overthrow Assad, it is unclear if the group will exhibit flexibility and move toward democracy or impose strict Islamic rule.
HTS and al-Sharaa, a former leader of an al Qaeda franchise in Syria, are gradually being given access by Western governments, which are also beginning to discuss whether to declassify the group as terrorists. The US delegation’s visit comes after recent meetings with Britain and France.
Washington has outlined a set of values it wants to see incorporated into Syria’s political transition, including respect for minorities’ rights and inclusivity.
Additionally, the US delegation sought to learn more about other American citizens who vanished under Assad, including US journalist Austin Tice, who was captured in Syria in 2012 while on a reporting assignment.
Roger Carstens, a member of the delegation and the US Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, stated that Washington would cooperate with Syria’s interim authorities in order to locate Tice.
Despite receiving a lot of information about missing US journalist Austin Tice, Carstens, who has been in the area since Assad’s overthrow, said that none of it had definitively confirmed his fate thus far.
In 2012, the United States ceased diplomatic relations with Syria and closed its embassy in Damascus. According to Daniel Rubinstein, the recently appointed senior advisor who will oversee US involvement in Syria, US officials will travel more frequently. “We’re going to try to do them prudently and as frequently as practical.”
The designation of terrorist
After more than 13 years of civil war, Syrian rebels took over Damascus on December 8, forcing Assad to leave and ending his family’s decades-long rule.
In addition to causing one of the worst refugee crises in modern history and ending a war that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, the rebel sweep left cities in ruins, the countryside depopulated, and the economy shattered by international sanctions.
The rebels’ ability to maintain an orderly transition following the lightning offensive came under scrutiny.
In Syria’s northwest province of Idlib, forces led by al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, imposed a three-month caretaker government on a rebel enclave.
Al-Qaeda in Iraq had assigned him the mission of toppling Assad and instituting sharia Islamic law in Syria, according to Washington’s 2013 designation of al-Sharaa as a terrorist. According to the report, the Nusra Front, the forerunner of HTS, promoted a violent sectarian ideology and carried out suicide attacks that claimed civilian lives.
Al-Sharaa claimed that the label of terrorist was unjust and that he was against the murder of innocent people.
In addition to wanting to prevent any conflicts between US-allied Kurdish militia and Turkish-backed rebel factions in the country’s northeast, Washington is still worried that the Islamic State might advantage on the situation to resurrect.
GAINING SYRIANS
HTS organized a gathering in central Damascus’ Ummayad Square on Friday, where thousands of Syrians celebrated. Speakers played revolutionary music as protesters chanted anti-Assad and pro-government slogans and waved the recently adopted Syrian flag.
There was a diverse mix of people in the crowd, including children, women with and without headscarves, and armed men dressed in military fatigues.
Eleven years ago, Maram, 62, said her four children fled Syria and settled in Germany and Hungary after two of her sons were tortured and imprisoned. They intend to go back to their country to aid in its reconstruction, but she hasn’t seen them since.
She stated, “The country has been completely destroyed in every aspect,” and while she hoped HTS could make things better, she was cautious. “We were not accustomed to freedom or governing our own country, so we will continue to monitor until we reach our goal.”
Many Syrians fear that the new government will adopt strict religious control, excluding women from public life and marginalizing minority groups.
According to Syrian transitional government spokesperson Obaida Arnout, women’s “biological and physiological nature” made them unsuitable for some government positions this week.
