DAMASCUS – The US lifted a US$10 million (S$13.6 million) bounty on Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa after an American delegation met him in Damascus on Dec 20, a move it said was needed for Washington to engage with the country’s interim government.
Ms Barbara Leaf, Washington’s top diplomat for the Middle East, told Mr Sharaa that the US was dropping a reward for his arrest as she welcomed “positive messages” from their talks including a promise to fight terrorism.
She made the comments after her meeting with Sharaa in Damascus – the first formal mission to Syria’s capital by United States diplomats since the early days of Syria’s civil war.
The lightning offensive that toppled president Bashar al-Assad on Dec 8 was led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is rooted in Al-Qaeda’s Syria branch but has sought to moderate its image in recent years.
Ms Leaf’s meeting with HTS chief, Mr Sharaa came despite Washington’s designation of his group as a terrorist organisation.
“Based on our discussion, I told him we would not be pursuing the Rewards for Justice reward offer that has been in effect for some years,” Ms Leaf told reporters after their talks.
She said “we welcomed positive messages” from Mr Sharaa.
“We will be looking for progress on these principles and actions, not just words,” she said.
“I also communicated the importance of inclusion and broad consultation during this time of transition,” she said.
“We fully support a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process that results in an inclusive and representative government which respects the rights of all Syrians, including women, and Syria’s diverse ethnic and religious communities.”
The United States agreed on those principles with top Arab and European diplomats as well as Turkey during a meeting on Dec 14 in Aqaba, Jordan.
A Syrian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, earlier confirmed to AFP that the US delegation had met with Mr Sharaa.
“The meeting took place, and it was positive. And the results will be positive, God willing,” the official said.
The US delegation also included the US pointman on hostages, who has been seeking clues on missing Americans including Mr Austin Tice, a journalist kidnapped in Syria in August 2012.
On Dec 20, the US embassy added on social media platform X that the US and Syrian sides also discussed “regional events, Syria’s intention to be a good neighbour and the importance of common efforts on terrorism.”
US strikes ISIS
On a regional tour prior to the Aqaba talks, Secretary of State Antony Blinken had stressed the need to prevent a resurgence of Islamic State group (ISIS) extremists.
The US military said on Dec 20 its forces had killed an ISIS leader and another operative in Deir Ezzor province, part of escalated US military action against the group since Mr Assad’s overthrow.
The embassy said Ms Leaf also met with Syria’s White Helmet rescuers, civil society leaders, activists and others “to hear directly from them about their vision for the future of their country and how the United States can help support them.”
Below a photograph of Ms Leaf and others with a memorial wreath, the US embassy said she had also commemorated the tens of thousands of people murdered, tortured, disappeared or detained under Mr Assad.
“The US commitment to hold accountable those responsible for these atrocities is unwavering,” the embassy said.
Ms Leaf denied that her press conference in Damascus had been cancelled for security reasons, saying she was delayed by street celebrations.
Turkish pressure
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who backed Mr Assad’s opponents, has stressed reconciliation and restoration of Syria’s territorial integrity and unity.
Turkey has been putting pressure on Kurdish-led forces in Syria, and Mr Erdogan said on Dec 20 it was time to destroy “terrorist” groups operating in the country, specifically ISIS and Kurdish fighters.
“Daesh, the PKK and their affiliates – which threaten the survival of Syria – must be eradicated,” he told journalists following a summit in Cairo, referring to ISIS and the Kurdistan Workers Party, respectively.
The autonomous administration in north-eastern Syria is protected by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, mostly made up of the People’s Protection Units (YPG).
Turkey accuses the YPG of being a branch of the PKK, which both Washington and Ankara consider a terrorist group.
Kurdish leaders in Syria have welcomed Mr Assad’s ouster and raised the three-star independence-era rebel flag, but many in the region fear continued attacks by Turkey and allied fighters.
Ms Leaf said Washington was urging a ceasefire between Turkish-backed forces and the SDF around the Kurdish-held Syrian border town of Kobane, also known as Ain al-Arab.
On a visit to Ankara on Dec 20, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock warned of the dangers of any “escalation” of the fighting, saying: “Security, especially for Kurds, is essential for a free and secure future for Syria.”
Iran and Russia had long helped to prop up Mr Assad, but on Dec 20 Ms Leaf said she expected Syria would completely end any role for Iran.
Ms Amy Pope, the head of the UN migration agency, on Dec 20 urged “the caretaker government to continue to empower and enable women, because they are going to be absolutely critical to the rebuilding of the country”.
Ms Pope also called for the raft of international sanctions on Syria to be reassessed to help the country regain its footing.
Syria’s civil war killed more than 500,000 people and sparked an exodus of millions of refugees.
Since Mr Assad’s departure, which sparked celebrations at home and abroad, rebels have thrown open prisons where tens of thousands of people were arbitrarily detained and tortured.
They have also located mass graves believed to hold some of the estimated 100,000 people who died or were killed in custody since 2011. BLOOMBERG, AFP
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