Türkiye recognised the new administration in Syria as a “legitimate partner” for Ankara which is why the Turkish embassy in Damascus had reopened and the ambassador has been instructed to communicate with local and central government officials
Officials from the United Nations, European Union and other countries have also made contact with the new administration, Fidan noted, adding that the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group – whose leader is Ahmed al-Sharaa, also referred to as Abu Mohammed al-Julani, is the de facto leader in Syria – should be delisted as a ‘terrorism’ organisation
Quote
“I think it is time for the international community, starting from UN you know, to remove their name from the terrorism list”
Fidan said of HTS which is the main component of the coalition currently governing Syria
US and HTS
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken acknowledged over the weekend that Washington is in contact with HTS and discussions with the group were in the broad context of the future of Syria
The US State Department placed HTS on its list of “foreign terrorist organisations” in May 2018 due to its affiliation with the al-Nusra Front, an al-Qaeda affiliate
HTS credible caretakers of Syria
Since 2016 HTS’s al-Sharaa has moved to distance the organisation from al-Qaeda and has been positioning himself and HTS as credible caretakers of Syria in a post-Assad period
