By Erin Banco
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Biden administration has urged the rebel group that led the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad not to assume automatic leadership of the country but instead run an inclusive process to form a transitional government, according to two U.S. officials and a congressional aide briefed on the first U.S. contacts with the group.
The communications with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a group formerly allied with al Qaeda and designated a terrorist organization by the United States, are being conducted in coordination with Washington’s Middle East allies, including Turkey.
The administration is also in touch with President-elect Donald Trump’s team about the matter, one of the officials said.
The discussions, which have taken place over the last several days, are part of a larger effort by Washington to coordinate with various groups inside Syria as it tries to navigate the chaotic aftermath of the sudden collapse of the Assad regime on Sunday.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the U.S. has sent messages to the group to help guide early efforts to establish a formal governing structure for the country.
The sources declined to say whether the messages were being sent directly or via an intermediary.
Washington believes the transitional government should represent the desires of the Syrian people and would not support HTS taking control without a formal process to select new leaders, the officials said.
The U.S. National Security Council declined to comment.
TERRORIST DESIGNATION
The United States in 2013 designated HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, better known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, a terrorist, saying al Qaeda in Iraq had tasked him with overthrowing Assad’s rule and establishing Islamic sharia law in Syria. It said the Nusra Front, the predecessor of HTS, carried out suicide attacks that killed civilians and espoused a violent sectarian vision.
The official said the administration is not clear about Golani’s role in a future Syrian government – or whether he still holds extremist ideologies.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken laid out on Tuesday criteria for Syria’s political transition, saying Washington would recognize a future Syrian government that amounts to a credible, inclusive and non-sectarian governing body.
Some lawmakers on Capitol Hill are pushing the administration to consider lifting U.S. sanctions on Syria, including sanctions specifically related to HTS, in exchange for the group meeting certain U.S. demands, the congressional aide told Reuters.
The aide said there is a growing feeling among some members of Congress that the U.S. will need to help a transitional government in Syria connect to the global economy and rebuild the country. Sanctions are preventing that from happening, the aide said.
Washington is also in communication with HTS and other actors on the ground about battlefield operations, one of the officials said.
Senior U.S. officials have repeatedly said they intend to continue military operations in northeastern Syria against ISIS, to ensure the radical extremist group does not become a threat again, given the current power vacuum in the country. U.S. forces in Syria will also continue to prevent Iranian-backed proxy groups from gaining ground, one of the officials said.
(Reporting by Erin Banco; Editing by Humeyra Pamuk and Rod Nickel)