In a significant diplomatic development, American diplomats held the first face to face meeting with the leadership of Hayat al-Tahrir (HTS) in Damascus.
Following the meeting, the US withdrew the announcement of a reward of $10 million for the arrest of the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa known as Abu Mohammad al-Julani.
Barbara Leaf, the US State Department’s senior diplomat for the Middle East, said that Mohammad al-Julani assured the meeting in Damascus that the Islamic State (IS) and other terrorist groups would not be allowed to operate in Syrian territory.
Barbara further said that the US delegation informed Sharaa, that Washington would no longer offer the $10m reward for his capture, “it was a policy decision which was linked to negotiations with HTS,” she explained.
Us state department’s senior diplomat was accompanied in Damascus by the presidential envoy for hostage affairs, Roger Carstens, and senior adviser Daniel Rubinstein who has been tasked with US relations with the new forces in Syria.
In Damascus, on Friday, the future of Syrian Kurdish fighters who have been longstanding US allies in the fight against Islamic State (IS) in the region was also discussed.
A State Department spokesman confirmed that the fight against IS had been discussed, but did not give any details.
