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Joe Biden is sending top diplomats to Damascus to meet with Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, the leader of the Islamist rebels who overthrew Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad but are considered a terrorist group by the US.
Barbara Leaf, the State Department’s senior Middle East official, will lead the delegation in coming days, according to people familiar with the matter.
The meeting will be the first official direct contact between the United States and leaders of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the organization leading that offensive. overthrow Assad two weeks ago after a lightning strike against the regime.
This planned visit to the US comes as Jolani, who now uses his birth name Ahmed al-Sharea, calls on Western countries to lift sanctions on Syria and Washington tries to stop it. terrorist groups including Isis take advantage of the power vacuum left after Assad’s fall.
US officials said they would consider lifting HTS’s terrorist designation, which has been in place since 2018, as well as sanctions against the Syrian state if the group proves committed to governing. comprehensive” and maintain stability.
“If you don’t want that isolation, there are certain things you have to do to move the country forward and make sure that you move the country forward in an inclusive way. . . to deal with some security challenge, whether it’s chemical weapons, whether it’s groups like Isis,” Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State, said at an event in New York on Wednesday.
The US trip will follow a visit to Damascus by French, German and British officials earlier this week.
Blinken told Bloomberg on Thursday that he was considering sending a delegation to Syria in the coming days. “It’s important to have face-to-face communication.” he saidwithout revealing who he would send or what he had decided.
US officials contacted HTS to discuss the political transition in Syria and emphasized the importance of finding Austin Tice, an American journalist kidnapped in Damascus in 2012.
The US designation of HTS and its leader as terrorists means Washington cannot provide material support to the group but can communicate with them. Jolani said Assad’s departure means sanctions on the state should be lifted.
American officials were encouraged by Jolani’s conciliatory statements and pledge to preside over a united Syria. But they say the challenge now is to see whether his actions match his words.
The EU is planning to reopen its embassy in Damascus. Türkiye and Qatar are reopening embassies they closed after Mr. Assad’s brutal repression of a 2011 popular uprising turned into a civil war. Ankara, which is affiliated with HTS, has among the main supporters of the Syrian rebels.
The US is concerned that IS could exploit the power vacuum in Syria to regroup and launch new attacks. About 900 US troops remain in the northeast of the country to fight the terrorist group. The US has stepped up military operations against IS since Assad’s regime fell earlier this month.
