US Secretary of State Blinken acknowledges contact with Syria’s HTS rebels 

The administration of President Joe Biden has acknowledged contact with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Syrian opposition group that led the recent lightning offensive that toppled longtime leader Bashar al-Assad.

Saturday’s statement, delivered by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, was the first time the Biden administration has publicly confirmed talks with the group.

Such talks are sensitive. HTS has been designated as a “foreign terrorist organisation” in the US since 2018, and the US largely avoids negotiations with such groups.

In a news conference from Aqaba, Jordan, Blinken placed his discussions with HTS in the context of broader US goals for the future of Syria.

“Yes, we have been in contact with HTS and with other parties,” Blinken said in response to a question from reporters.

He explained that he “impressed upon everyone” the need to find US citizen and freelance journalist Austin Tice, who went missing in Syria while reporting in 2012.

Blinken also indicated his team sought HTS support for a set of “principles” that diplomats from the US, the United Nations, the European Union, Turkiye and eight Arab League countries discussed for a peaceful government transition process.

“We communicated those,” Blinken said.

In May 2018, the US State Department, under then-President Donald Trump, added HTS to its list of “foreign terrorist organisations” due to its affiliation with the al-Nusra Front, an al-Qaeda affiliate.

It accused HTS of being a “vehicle” for the al-Nusra Front “to advance its position in the Syrian uprising and to further its own goals”.

The United Nations Security Council also sanctioned HTS in 2014 for a similar reason, freezing its financial assets abroad and placing it under an arms embargo.

But Ahmed al-Sharaa, also referred to as Abu Mohammed al-Julani, the leader of HTS, has taken steps to distance his organisation from al-Qaeda.

According to The Associated Press, al-Sharaa released a video in 2016 asserting his group’s independence. “This new organisation has no affiliation to any external entity,” he said.

Still, it is unlikely that US officials will agree to lifting sanctions on HTS any time soon.

Speaking to the news agency Reuters this week, Senator Chris Murphy indicated lifting sanctions on HTS was premature. He nevertheless emphasised the need to maintain ties with the forces shaping Syria’s future.

“I do not think the United States should lock ourselves out of a room that everyone else is in,” he told Reuters. “I don’t think we should be shy about opening lines of communication.”

Another senator — Ben Cardin, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee — told a news conference he would likewise take a “wait and see” approach.

“It’s too early to tell whether the incoming regime’s record will reflect a different way of doing business,” Cardin said.

The future of US involvement in Syria also remains uncertain. The country has roughly 900 troops in the country, as well as several military bases in the country’s oil-rich eastern regions.

There, the US has allied with Kurdish-led forces to combat the expansion of ISIL (ISIS). On Saturday, Blinken emphasised that the mission was still ongoing.

“The success that we’ve had over the last years in ending the territorial caliphate of ISIS, making sure that ISIS was in a box and stays there — that remains a critical mission,” he said. “This is a moment when ISIS will seek to regroup, taking advantage of the transition in Syria.”

But President-elect Trump, who is set to begin a second term in the White House in January, has indicated he may chart a different path for the US.

Shortly before the fall of the al-Assad government on December 8, Trump posted on social media that he would keep his distance from Syria.

“Syria is a mess, but is not our friend,” Trump wrote. “THE UNITED STATES SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT. LET IT PLAY OUT. DO NOT GET INVOLVED!”

Officials from the outgoing Biden administration, however, have been meeting with diplomats from the Arab League and other parties this week to help shape the war-torn country’s future.

Blinken on Saturday offered a summary of their joint agreement. He outlined a vision for a “Syrian-led and Syrian-owned” transition process that will eventually result in “an inclusive and representative government”, where the rights of all minorities are respected.

He also emphasised the important role the US has in the region, making a pointed case for not withdrawing from further dialogues about Syria.

“America and our partners have an important stake in helping the Syrian people chart this new path. We know that what happens inside of Syria can have powerful consequences well beyond its borders, from mass displacement to terrorism,” Blinken said.

“We’ve seen how the fall of a repressive regime can swiftly give way to more conflict and chaos, how the shoes of one dictator can be filled by another, or how interference by an outside country can be thrown off only to be replaced by another.”