AMMAN (AP) – Top diplomats from the United States, the Arab League and Turkey met in Jordan on Saturday to discuss how to assist Syria ’s transition after the fall of Bashar Assad’s government a week ago. No Syrian representatives attended.
The collapse of the Assad family’s more than half-century of rule has sparked new fears of instability in a region already shaken by the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and hostilities between Israel and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah despite a tenuous ceasefire.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said American officials have been in direct contact with the Syrian insurgent group that led the overthrow of Assad’s government, but the group continues to be designated a foreign terrorist organisation by the United States and others.
The insurgent leader in an interview with Syrian TV didn’t mention contact with the US, but he warned Israel about the hundreds of airstrikes it has carried out in Syria in the past week.
ARAB COUNTRIES SUPPORT ‘PEACEFUL TRANSITION’
According to Al Jazeera, top diplomats from eight Arab League countries have agreed at a meeting in Jordan to “support a peaceful transition process” in Syria following President Bashar al-Assad’s overthrow.
Foreign ministers from Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar issued a joint statement after they met in the Jordanian Red Sea port of Aqaba.
They said “all political and social forces” must be represented in the new Syrian government and warned against “any ethnic, sectarian or religious discrimination” and called for “justice and equality for all citizens”.
The political process in Syria should be supported by “the United Nations and the Arab League, in accordance with the principles of Security Council Resolution 2254”, a resolution in 2015 which set out a roadmap for a negotiated settlement, the statement said.
The Arab diplomats also attended a separate meeting in Aqaba that included US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pederson and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
That meeting also called for an inclusive and representative government that respects the rights of minorities and does not offer “a base for terrorist groups”, according to Blinken, who spoke at a news conference.
“Today’s agreement sends a unified message to the new interim authority and parties in Syria on the principles crucial to securing much-needed support and recognition,” he said.