The Daily Star Ireland
Syria’s new leadership has expressed a desire to contribute to regional peace following a meeting between leader Ahmed al-Sharaa and a US diplomatic delegation. The Syrian authorities emphasized that their people maintain neutrality towards all regional countries and parties, rejecting any form of polarization. They aim to reaffirm Syria’s role in fostering regional peace and building strategic partnerships with neighboring countries.
Previously, a Syrian official described the meeting between al-Sharaa, also known by his former nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, and the US delegation led by Barbara Leaf, the State Department’s head of Middle East affairs, as positive. Al-Sharaa, the leader of the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) which now controls Damascus, had been a target of US sanctions.
Following their initial formal contact in Damascus, the United States announced the withdrawal of a bounty on al-Sharaa’s arrest. Barbara Leaf conveyed that she informed him of the decision to drop the reward offer based on their discussion. She also highlighted the critical need to ensure that terrorist groups do not pose threats within or outside Syria, including to the US and its regional partners, to which al-Sharaa committed, displaying a pragmatic attitude.
HTS, the leading force of the coalition of armed groups in Syria, claims to have distanced itself from jihadism and aims to assure the population of its capability to revive the country after almost 14 years of civil war. Recently, emissaries from France, Germany, the UK, and the United Nations have visited Damascus to establish contact with the new Syrian authorities.
The West remains cautious about the potential fragmentation of Syria and the resurgence of the Islamic State, which has not been entirely eradicated from the region.
