Several senior U.S. diplomats are visiting Damascus on Friday to meet with Syria’s new rulers, 12 days after President Bashar al-Assad was ousted and forced to seek sanctuary in Russia.
The U.S. State Department’s most senior diplomat in the Middle East, Barbara Leaf, is joined on the trip by Roger Carstens, the presidential envoy for hostage affairs, and Daniel Rubinstein, a senior adviser overseeing the department’s Syrian engagement.
HTS—which began as an offshoot of the al-Qaeda terrorist group—remains a designated terrorist group by the United States and most other Western governments.
Al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, led an offensive by HTS that broke out of their stronghold in Idlib, northwest Syria, in late November, capturing the cities of Aleppo, Hama, and Homs.
The Assad regime’s Syrian Arab Army retreated towards Damascus before collapsing. HTS set up a transitional government that will rule the country until March, but it remains unclear whether they propose to hold democratic elections.
A State Department spokesman said the delegation would discuss with the HTS the importance of respecting the rights of ethnic and religious minorities, which the U.S. government believes is important during Syria’s political transition.
“They will be engaging directly with the Syrian people, including members of civil society, activists, members of different communities, and other Syrian voices about their vision for the future of their country and how the United States can help support them,” the spokesman added.
On Dec. 14 U.S. officials met in Aqaba, Jordan, with foreign ministers from Turkey and the Arab League countries to discuss the situation in Syria. The U.S. State Department spokesman said issues from that meeting would be shared with the new Syrian leadership.
The U.S. cut diplomatic ties with Syria and shut its embassy in Damascus in Feb. 2012, six months after President Barack Obama urged Assad to step down.
During the Syrian civil war, the U.S. supported the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-dominated group that controlled large parts of northeastern Syria and played a key role in defeating the ISIS terrorist group.
The SDF is opposed by the Turkish government, which has backed the rival Syrian National Army (SNA). The SNA has clashed repeatedly with the SDF and expelled them from the city of Manbij.
The State Department’s Rewards for Justice website states that, under his leadership, “ANF has carried out multiple terrorist attacks throughout Syria, often targeting civilians.”
It added, “In April 2015, ANF reportedly kidnapped, and later released, approximately 300 Kurdish civilians from a checkpoint in Syria. In June 2015, ANF claimed responsibility for the massacre of 20 residents in the Druze village of Qalb Lawzeh in Idlib province, Syria.”
