Qatar in Contact with Syrian Islamist Group HTS
Qatar's Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani meets Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Doha on December 7, 2024. ©Qatar Amiri Diwan/AFP

Qatari officials are in contact with the Islamist group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which spearheaded the ouster of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, as well as other groups in Syria, an official briefed on the developments told AFP on Tuesday.

"The Qataris have established the first channel of communication with HTS. Communication with HTS and Qatari diplomats are expected to continue in the next 24 hours with Al Bashir," the official said on condition of anonymity, referring to senior rebel Mohammed Bashir.

Qatar, which was one of the main backers of the armed rebellion that erupted after Assad's government crushed a peaceful uprising in 2011, had been a stern critic of the ousted leader.

Assad, in power since 2000, was toppled over the weekend following a swift campaign by HTS and its allies.

The official, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions, added the "focus of the communication with HTS and others is on the need... to maintain calm and preserve Syria's public institutions during the transition period".

Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari, while declining to say whether his country was speaking to HTS specifically, had previously said the Gulf emirate was "in contact with all the groups that we have always been in contact with within the Syrian mosaics".

The spokesman also noted Qatar's embassy in Syria, which it opened to opposition groups during the rebellion against Assad, was now the "first embassy of the new reality in Syria".

"I can't specifically comment on specific calls or meetings that are taking place at the moment but I can tell you that our doors are open, we are talking to everybody," he said.

Qatar hosted meetings on Saturday with Russian, Iranian, Turkish and Arab officials on Syria before the discussions were overtaken by events and Assad was toppled.

"Consensus was reached by all parties at Saturday's meeting, the priority is to bring the situation in Syria under control and to ensure that extremist groups like Islamic State are not able to gain a foothold in Syria again," the official added.

With AFP

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