US mulls sending officials to Syria for talks with HTS: Blinken

WASHINGTON

The US is considering sending officials to Syria for talks with the main group that overthrew Bashar Assad, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday.

Blinken said the Biden administration has been in "direct contact" with Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), a US, UN and Türkiye-designated terror organization. He held the door open to Washington rescinding its blacklisting, depending on how it handles the transition to a post-Assad Syria.

"We've heard positive statements coming from Mr. (Abu Mohammed) Jolani, the leader of HTS, but what everyone is focused on is what's actually happening on the ground. What are they doing? Are they working to build a transition in Syria that brings everyone in?" he told Bloomberg News.

"If they do that, and if they meet some of these other tests that the international community is looking for them to meet, then I think you can see something very positive. And here's what it is, for the first time in decades, the people of Syria can go forward without a dictator, without a terrorist group dominating their lives, without one sect or one group running things at the exclusion of others, and without a foreign power calling all the shots. That's the opportunity, but it really requires HTS and other groups that are there to move forward in this inclusive way," he added.

Blinken said the US is weighing the possibility of sending officials to Syria because "it's important to have direct communication."

"It's important to speak as clearly as possible, to listen, to make sure that we understand as best we can where they're going and where they want to go. So, we'll be looking at pursuing that in the coming days," he said.

Assad, who ruled Syria with an iron fist for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia on Dec. 8 as anti-regime groups seized control of Damascus. The takeover came after HTS fighters captured key cities in a lightning offensive that lasted less than two weeks.​​​​​​​

The US closed its embassy in Damascus in 2012 and pulled all diplomatic staff from the country as the conflict spiraled.

Czechia, formerly known as the Czech Republic, has since served as the US' protecting power in Syria.

Several nations, including Türkiye, Qatar, France and Germany have reopened their diplomatic missions in a bid to facilitate dialogue at a critical moment in Syria's history.