US takes down $10-million bounty for new Syrian leader
Washington’s envoy said it would be “incoherent” to negotiate with someone on a US wanted-terrorist list after meeting with HTS in Damascus Read Full Article at RT.com
Washington’s envoy said it would be “incoherent” to negotiate with someone on a wanted-terrorist list
The US has taken down its offer of a $10-million reward for information leading to the capture of Syria's new leader Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa, better known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Julani. The decision comes following a Washington delegation's meeting with the leadership of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in Damascus on Friday.
Earlier this month, Syrian opposition forces led by HTS jihadists launched a surprise offensive across the country, overturning the rule of Bashar Assad, who resigned as president and was granted asylum in Russia.
Barbara Leaf, the US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, led a delegation to Syria on Friday, where they met al-Sharaa, marking the first visit by American diplomats to the country since 2012, when the US embassy in Damascus was closed.
Leaf claims they discussed the need to prevent terrorist groups from operating within Syria and to ensure the protection of minority and women's rights.
“We also discussed the critical need to ensure that terrorist groups cannot pose a threat inside Syria or externally, including to the US and our partners in the region,” Leaf said during a telephone briefing from Jordan. “Based on our discussion, I informed him that we would not be pursuing the Rewards for Justice offer that has been in effect for some years.”
Leaf emphasized that the decision to withdraw the bounty reflected a policy shift aimed at legitimizing engagement with the group. HTS remains designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the United States, and sanctions stemming from this designation are still in place.
“If I’m sitting with the HTS leader and having a lengthy, detailed discussion, it’s a little incoherent to have a bounty on his head,” she noted. “Otherwise, I should ask the FBI to come in and arrest him or something.”
The US delegation also included Roger Carstens, the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, and Daniel Rubinstein, a senior adviser handling relations with the new Syrian forces. They discussed the fate of missing American journalist Austin Tice, who disappeared in Syria in 2012, among other issues.
This week, the US military revealed it had doubled its forces in Syria to approximately 2,000 troops before Assad's fall, in order to prevent Islamic State terrorists from exploiting the upheaval. The Pentagon conducted airstrikes in the northeast of the country on Thursday, allegedly killing one of the terrorist group’s leaders.
While the immediate reopening of the US embassy in Damascus is not planned, Leaf indicated that future diplomatic recognition would depend on the actions of the new Syrian authorities.
