The transition in Syria has begun, two weeks after the fall of Bashar al Assad’s regime. And part of this transition involves the relations between the new transitional government of the rebels and the world powers.
The United States is involved in this task, sending a delegation to Syria this Friday. The first in a decade to visit the country and which was chaired by Barbara Leaf, responsible for the Middle East at the State Department. It was during this visit that the American State Department announced that it had withdrawn its $10 million reward offer for arresting Syria’s new leader, the Islamist Ahmed al Sharaa (known until now by his nom de guerre, Abu Mohamed al Jolani). , until now classified as “terrorist” by Washington.
“After our conversations, I announced to him that we will withdraw the reward offer that we have had in place for the last few years,” Leaf told reporters after meeting with the rebel leader. Abu Mohamed al Jolani is the leader of the radical Islamist group HTS, classified as “terrorist” by several countries, including the United States. HTS led the rebel alliance that took power in Damascus on November 8, after a lightning offensive. The group, which was the Syrian branch of Al Qaeda, claims to have broken with jihadism and seeks to reassure the international community after more than 13 years of civil war that devastated and fragmented the territory.
After the meeting with the American envoys, the new Syrian authorities assured that they wanted to contribute to “regional peace.” In their statement, they also stated that they will maintain “the same distance from all countries and parties in the region” and rejected “any polarization.”
Leaf also reported that he communicated to Sharaa about the “critical need to ensure that terrorist groups cannot pose a threat within Syria or externally, including to the United States and our partners in the region.” “Ahmed al Sharaa committed to this,” he said. Roger Carstens, the person primarily responsible for the hostage issue, also participated in the American delegation. In talks, they worked to look for a location where American journalist Austin Tice may have been detained and that “we will work with interim authorities” to examine other locations. Tice was kidnapped in Syria in August 2012.
Appointments
In this transition process, yesterday, the interim Government, which is counting on some positions from the previous regime, began to announce the first names of those who will be part of the interim Executive.
The ruling General Command appointed Asaad Hassan al Shibani as foreign minister, SANA reported. Shibani, a 37-year-old Damascus University graduate, previously headed the political department of a rebel government in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province.
The former head of the parallel government established by HTS in the areas under its control in Idlib province, Mohamed el Bashir, was appointed in the middle of this month as interim prime minister for a transition process that should end on March 1, 2025. In addition, the Syrian authorities also appointed Azzam Gharib as the new governor of the province of Aleppo. Gharib is one of the prominent leaders of Jabhat al Shamiyah, a jihadist-oriented group, affiliated with the Syrian National Army, a rebel group backed by Turkey that has simultaneously launched an offensive against the Arab Kurdish militias.
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