UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy confirmed that the British government has had “diplomatic contact” with Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Syrian rebel group that played a key role in toppling the Assad regime.
While Lammy emphasized that HTS remains a proscribed terrorist organization, he noted that diplomatic contact is still possible. “The UK can have diplomatic contact, and so we do have diplomatic contact, as you would expect,” he said.
His comments come after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken revealed on Saturday that the United States had made “direct contact” with HTS, which now controls significant parts of northern Syria.
Lammy's statement was made in the context of the UK government's announcement of a £50 million humanitarian aid package for vulnerable Syrians. Speaking on Sunday, Lammy said, “We want to see a representative government, an inclusive government. We want to see chemical weapons stockpiles secured and not used, and we want to ensure that there is not continuing violence.”
He added, “For all of those reasons, using all the channels available to us—including diplomatic and intelligence-led channels—we seek to deal with HTS where necessary.”
It is important to note that Lammy's remarks do not imply direct personal communication between the foreign secretary and HTS.
With BBC
Comments