German and French officials are due to meet representatives of Syria’s new governing authorities in Damascus on Tuesday, expanding western contacts with the new administration after British diplomats met its leader Ahmed al-Sharaa late on Monday.
Nine days after Bashar al-Assad was ousted, western states are gradually opening channels to the new authorities in Damascus led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group, though they continue to designate it a terrorist group.
Late on Monday, Sharaa, formerly known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, met a British foreign ministry delegation. He stressed the need for the restoration of ties and lifting sanctions on Syria so that Syrian refugees can return home, the Syrian state news agency Sana reported.
Photos published by Sana showed Sharaa, whose group was part of al-Qaeda until he broke ties in 2016, sitting in a suit with an open shirt during the meeting, his highest-level encounter yet with a western government official since HTS seized power.
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The images underline the geopolitical shift since Assad was toppled by HTS-led forces, a blow to Assad’s Russian and Iranian allies which could potentially open the way for western states to reopen contacts with Damascus.
But for now at least, any western overtures require manoeuvring around both the terrorism designation imposed on HTS during its days as an al-Qaeda affiliate and financial sanctions imposed on Damascus under Assad.
German diplomats are also planning talks with representatives of HTS in Damascus on Tuesday, the German foreign ministry said. A spokesperson for the German foreign ministry said the talks would focus on a transitional process for Syria and the protection of minorities.
“The possibilities of a diplomatic presence in Damascus are also being explored there,” the spokesperson added in a statement, reiterating that Berlin was monitoring HTS closely in light of its roots in al-Qaeda ideology. “As far as one can tell, they have acted prudently so far,” the spokesperson said.
The Syrian conflict, which spiralled out of the 2011 uprising against Assad’s rule, drove millions of Syrians abroad as refugees, including around one million who went to Germany.
French diplomats are also expected to visit Damascus later on Tuesday to meet HTS representatives, French officials said.
The US State Department said on Monday that the US government has had more than one communication with HTS over the past week.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Monday the European Union should be ready to ease sanctions on Syria if the country’s new leadership takes “positive steps” to establish an inclusive government and respect women’s and minority rights.
The new administration in Damascus has set out few details on its thinking for the next steps for Syria, which is emerging from more than five decades of iron-fisted rule by the Assad family and nearly 14 years of devastating civil war.
Newly appointed prime minister Mohammed al-Bashir, who formerly led an HTS-affiliated government in Idlib province, has said he will remain in office until March.
Elsewhere, the head of a UN investigative body has written to Syria’s new authorities to express a willingness to engage with them and to travel to Syria to secure evidence that could implicate top officials of the former government, he said on Tuesday.
After rebels swept Assad from power this month, prisons and government offices will flung open, with fresh hopes for accountability for crimes committed during Syria’s more-than-13-year civil war.
“Our first priority would be to go and try and scope the extent of the issue, see exactly what is available in terms of access and potential evidence, and then see how we could best assist in preserving that,” Robert Petit, head of the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism, told a Geneva press briefing.
“There is now the possibility of accessing evidence of the highest level of (the) regime,” he added. – Reuters