US diplomats meet with the new Syrian government in Damascus

U.S. diplomats in Damascus were scheduled to meet with Syria’s new de facto authorities, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, in person for the first time on Friday in an attempt to learn more about the former al Qaeda affiliate’s ambitions for the country.

Although many Syrians, the United States, and other Western nations were happy to see HTS-led rebels overthrow President Bashar al-Assad, it is unclear if the group will exhibit flexibility and move toward democracy or impose strict Islamic control.

A State Department spokesperson stated that Biden administration officials will talk with HTS members about a set of values that Washington wants to be included into Syria’s democratic transition, including respect for minorities’ rights and inclusivity.

The first American diplomats to visit Damascus after Assad’s downfall are Barbara Leaf, the State Department’s top Middle East diplomat, Roger Carstens, the President’s Envoy for Hostage Affairs, and Daniel Rubinstein, Senior Advisor, who is responsible for spearheading the Department’s engagement in Syria.

A news conference with the U.S. authorities was planned, but it was canceled due to security concerns, according to a statement released by Leaf without giving any specifics.

Western nations are beginning to discuss whether to revoke HTS’s terrorist designation and are progressively opening their doors to the organization and its head, Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former Al Qaeda franchise commander in Syria. The U.S. delegation’s visit comes after recent meetings with Britain and France.

Information regarding American journalists Austin Tice, who was captured in Syria in 2012 while on a reporting assignment, and other Americans who vanished under Assad will also be sought by the team.

The State Department spokeswoman stated that the group would meet with leaders of HTS, civil society, and other communities to discuss “transition principles” that the U.S. and regional allies have endorsed.

The U.S. closed its embassy in the Syrian capital, Damascus, and severed diplomatic ties with Syria in 2012.

The Syrians gathered

Hundreds of Syrians gathered Thursday in the historic Ummayad Square in Damascus to demand a secular, democratic state that guarantees women’s equality. This type of protest was the first since Assad was overthrown.

The general fear among Syrians is that the new government would turn to strict religious control, barring women from public life and neglecting minority groups.

Syrian Transitional Government Spokesman Obaida Arnout declared last week that women’s “biological and physiological nature” made them unsuitable for several government positions.

At a news briefing in Geneva, U.N. spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan announced that the U.N. human rights office will deploy a small team of human rights officers to Syria next week for the first time in years after Assad was overthrown.

There are now new hopes for accountability for crimes committed during Syria’s civil conflict after rebels threw open government buildings and prisons as part of the takeover.

Damascus fell to Syrian revolutionaries on December 8, ending the decades-long dominance of Assad’s family and forcing him to leave after over 13 years of civil conflict.

A conflict that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, resulted in one of the worst refugee crises in recent history, left cities in ruins, rural areas depopulated, and an economy shattered by international sanctions was brought to an end by the rebel sweep.

It was questioned whether the rebels could guarantee a smooth transition after the rapid offensive.

Assad family rule was replaced by a three-month caretaker administration led by forces led by al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, opens new tab. The forces were in charge of a rebel enclave in Syria’s northwest province of Idlib.

In 2013, Washington declared al-Sharaa a terrorist, claiming that he was entrusted by al Qaeda in Iraq to topple Assad’s government and impose Islamic sharia law in Syria. In addition to carrying out suicide attacks that murdered people, it claimed that the Nusra Front, the forerunner of HTS, promoted a vicious sectarian ideology.

According to Golani, the categorization as a terrorist was unjust, and he was against the murder of innocent people.

In addition to avoiding any conflicts in the country’s northeast between rebel groups supported by Turkey and Kurdish militia allied with the United States, Washington is still worried that ISIS would take advantage of the situation to resuscitate.