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.
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