High-level US delegation in Syria, democratic values ​​under discussion

 Friday, December 20, 2024

Islamabad (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - DW Urdu - 20th December 2024) Members of a high-level US delegation are meeting directly with officials of the new Syrian administration led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in the capital Damascus on Friday, December 20. The meeting is being held to assess the direction in which the former allies of the terrorist network Al-Qaeda want to take Syria and whether the future strategy will be in line with the wishes of the international community and Western countries.

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Several rebel groups led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham overthrew the government of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria on the 8th of this month.

Thus, the thirteen-year-long civil war and the long-standing rule of the Assad family came to an end.

Western countries breathed a sigh of relief at this development, as did the millions of Syrians scattered around the world who were directly or indirectly affected by the long civil war in the Middle East. Although Western powers see the fall of the Assad regime as a positive development, it is not clear whether the forces now in power will introduce a strict Islamic regime in the future or show some flexibility.

Key topics of the meeting

In the United States, Biden administration officials will discuss issues such as minority rights, equal opportunities for all citizens, gender balance and human rights with representatives of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in Syria. The American delegation includes the State Department's top diplomat for the Middle East, Barbara Leaf, the US presidential envoy for the release of hostages, Roger Carstens, and senior adviser Daniel Rubinstein.

These are the first high-level American officials to visit Syria since the fall of the Assad regime.

The US delegation will also seek information about journalist Austin Tice, who was captured while reporting in Syria in August 2012. It will also seek information about other US citizens who disappeared in Syria during the Assad regime.

Western governments are continuing to engage with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and are considering the possibility of removing its “terrorist” status.

The US severed diplomatic relations with Syria in 2012 and closed its embassy in Damascus.

Meanwhile, hundreds of people gathered in Damascus’s main square on Friday. It was the first public gathering since December 8, with participants calling for a democratic system and equal rights for women.