United Nations (TDI): Geir Pedersen, the top UN envoy for Syria, urged increased humanitarian assistance in the war-torn country amid “immense” changes that offer hope to a nation emerging from a thirteen-year-long civil war, as he arrived in Damascus on Sunday.
Pedersen, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria, flew into Damascus a week after President Bashar al-Assad was overthrown by rebel forces led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
Responding to reporters’ queries on his arrival, Pedersen said that the “immense” change since the fall of the Assad regime itself creates great hopes, but we all know that multiple challenges still lie ahead.”
Meanwhile, United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that US officials have been in direct contact with new Syrian leaders, although their organization is designated as a terrorist group.
Blinken was the first US official to publicly confirm contacts between Washington and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.
Speaking at a media conference in Aqaba, Jordan, Blinken did not discuss details of the contacts but said it was important for the US to convey messages to the HTS about its conduct and how it intends to rule in the transition period.
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HTS, which was once an affiliate of al-Qaeda, has been designed as a foreign terrorist group by the US State Department since 2018.
That designation carries with it tough sanctions, including a ban on the provision of any “material support” to the organization or its members.
However, the sanctions do not legally bar US officials from communicating with groups designated as terrorist.
In his comments, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria, said he considered it important to launch a political process that includes all Syrian people and which “must obviously be led by the Syrians themselves.”
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He said that the second challenge is to ensure that state institutions are operational, with public order and security and service delivery, being “extremely important”.
On the humanitarian crisis, he said it was importat to ensure that Syria receives “immediate increased humanitarian aid” for the population and for all refugees who want to return.
As for the issue of economic recovery, the envoy said it should be done quickly.
