US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Saturday that US officials have been in direct contact with the Syrian rebel group that led the uprising to overthrow the government of President Bashar al-Assad but is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and other countries.
Mr Blinken is the first US official to publicly confirm contacts between President Biden's administration and the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, group, which led a coalition of armed opposition groups that ousted Assad last Sunday.
Speaking at a news conference in Aqaba, Jordan, Secretary Blinken said he would not discuss the details of the communications, but said it was important for the United States to convey messages to the group about its positions and governance plans in a transition period.
"Yes, we have been in contact with HTS and other parties," Mr Blinken said. He added that "our message to the Syrian people is this: We want them to succeed and we are prepared to help them do so."
HTS, which was once an al-Qaeda affiliate, was designated a foreign terrorist organization by the State Department in 2018. This designation carries with it severe sanctions, including a ban on any "material support" to the group or its members. his. However, the sanctions do not legally prohibit US officials from communicating with the designated groups.
In an interview Saturday on Syrian television, the group's leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, did not talk about direct contacts with the United States, but said the new authorities in the capital Damascus are in contact with Western embassies.
HTS has taken steps to establish security and a political transition after taking control of Damascus and has sought to reassure a public caught off guard by the fall of Assad and worried about extremist jihadists among the rebels.
Insurgent leaders say the group has broken with its extremist past. Al-Sharaa appeared in a video message on Friday congratulating "the great Syrian people on the victory of the blessed revolution".
US officials say they welcome al-Sharaa's comments on protecting the rights of minorities and women, but remain skeptical that he will respect them in the long run.
On Friday, Syrian rebels and the opposition cooperated to safely hand over to US officials an American who had been imprisoned by Assad.
US officials are continuing the search for Austin Tice, an American journalist who disappeared 12 years ago near Damascus.
"We have emphasized to everyone we have been in contact with how important it is to us to find Austin Tice and bring him home," Mr Blinken said. /VOA/ (A2 Televizion)
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