Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Saturday that the U.S. has made direct contact with Syria’s Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) rebels as they transition from a militant insurgency toward a more legitimate governing authority.
“We’ve been in contact with HTS and with other parties,” Blinken said after talks in Aqaba, Jordan, with diplomats and representatives from several Arab nations.
The U.S. designates HTS a terrorist organization, making it legally impossible to work with the group, but contact underscores ongoing efforts to change that designation as the U.S. and its allies look to support Syria’s transition from Bashar al-Assad’s rule.
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