UNITED NATIONS, Dec 16 (APP): The top UN envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, called for increased humanitarian aid in the strife-torn country` amid “immense” changes that offer hope to a nation emerging from a 13-year-long war, as he arrived in Damascus on Sunday.
Pedersen, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria, flew into the Syrian capital a week after President Bashar al-Assad was overthrown by rebel forces led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
Responding to reporters’ questions on his arrival, Pedersen noted the “immense” change since the fall of the Assad regime.
“This change in itself creates great hopes, but we all know that many challenges still lie ahead. So we have to get it right from the beginning,” he sai
Meanwhile, United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Saturday that American officials have been in direct contact with new Syrian leaders, but their organization is designated as a foreign terrorist group.
Blinken was the first U.S. official to publicly confirm contacts between the Biden administration and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS.
Speaking at a news conference in Aqaba, Jordan, Blinken would not discuss details of the contacts but said it was important for the U.S. to convey messages to the group about its conduct and how it intends to govern in a transition period.
Blinken also said that officials are “also communicating directly with those in positions of authority in Syria.”
HTS, which was once an affiliate of al-Qaeda, has been designed as a foreign terrorist organization by the State Department since 2018. That designation carries with it severe sanctions, including a ban on the provision of any “material support” to the group or its members. The sanctions do not, however, legally bar U.S. officials from communicating with designated groups.
In an interview Saturday on Syrian television, the group’s leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, did not address any direct contact with the United States, but said the new authorities in Damascus, the capital, are in touch with Western embassies.
HTS has worked to establish security and start a political transition after seizing Damascus and has tried to reassure a public both stunned by Assad’s fall and concerned about extremist jihadis among the rebels, according to American media reports. Insurgent leaders say the group has broken with its extremist past, the reports added..
In his comments, Pedersen, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria, said he considered it necessary to launch a political process that includes all Syrians and which “must obviously be led by the Syrians themselves.”
The second challenge is to ensure that state institutions are operational, he said, with service delivery, public order and security being “extremely important”.
On the humanitarian crisis, he said it was necessary to ensure that Syria receives “immediate increased humanitarian assistance” for the population and for all refugees who want to return.
“This is extremely important,” he stressed.
As for the issue of economic recovery, he said “we need to make sure that this is resolved quickly.”
“We hope to see a quick end to sanctions, so that we can really see a rallying around the reconstruction of Syria.”
He also considered it necessary that justice be done. He said the perpetrators of crimes across the country must be held accountable.
“We must ensure that this happens through a credible justice system, and that we will not see any revenge,” Pedersen said.
