British diplomats have held talks with the leader of the group that led the ousting of Syria’s former dictator Bashar al Assad.
Photographs showed senior officials, including the UK’s special representative for Syria, meeting with Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) leader Ahmad al Sharaa in Damascus.
The group, which came out of al Qaeda before splitting from them in 2016, is currently proscribed in the UK as a terrorist organisation.
However, a senior minister told Sky News earlier this month that HTS could be removed from the UK’s list of proscribed terror groups.
Image: Pic: Military operation administration
Foreign Secretary David Lammy confirmed on Monday a delegation had been sent for talks with interim Syrian authorities and civil society groups after the fall of Assad’s regime earlier this month.
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German and French officials are also due to meet representatives of Syria’s new governing authorities in Damascus on Tuesday.
A German foreign ministry spokesperson said the talks would focus on a transitional process for Syria and the protection of minorities and that the possibility of having a diplomatic presence in Damascus was “also being explored there”.
Image: David Lammy
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US secretary of state Antony Blinken previously confirmed that Washington officials had spoken to the group despite its designation by the state department as a foreign terrorist organisation.
Mr al Sharaa, formerly known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al Golani, has sought to distance the group from al Qaeda and present a more moderate face to the world, leading some to call for the proscription to be removed.
Over the weekend, Mr Lammy said the proscription was no bar to diplomatic contact
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In an interview with international media on Monday, Mr al-Sharaa called for the designation of HTS as a terrorist group to be rescinded, along with sanctions imposed on Syria during the Assad years.
He said: “Syria is very important geostrategically. They should lift all restrictions, which were imposed on the flogger and the victim – the flogger is gone now. This issue is not up for negotiation.”
He also sought to ease fears about the new Syria’s relationship with Israel, saying he did not want any conflict with its southern neighbour.
Source : Sky News
