People hold placards bearing the images of Syrian detainees and missing persons during a protest outside the Hijaz train station in the capital Damascus on December 15, 2024, demanding accountability for the perpetrators of crimes in Syria, an end to arbitrary detention, and the closure of prisons. Islamist-led rebels took Damascus in a lightning offensive on December 8, ousting president Bashar al-Assad and ending five decades of Baath rule in Syria. Photo / AFP
People hold placards bearing the images of Syrian detainees and missing persons during a protest outside the Hijaz train station in the capital Damascus on December 15, 2024, demanding accountability for the perpetrators of crimes in Syria, an end to arbitrary detention, and the closure of prisons. Islamist-led rebels took Damascus in a lightning offensive on December 8, ousting president Bashar al-Assad and ending five decades of Baath rule in Syria. Photo / AFP
It comes after the US said overnight it had also made direct contact with the rebels, following earlier reports that incumbent US President Joe Biden had sent messages to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) via Turkey.
Lammy said the UK had made contact as he announced £50m of humanitarian aid for Syria.
He said HTS, which now runs most of Syria, remained a banned terrorist organisation, but Britain “can have diplomatic contact and so we do have diplomatic contact, as you would expect”.
Part of the new UK aid would go to chemical weapons inspectors working in Syria, Lammy said. Israel has been bombing depots to prevent the weapons from falling into the hands of rebels.
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.”
“For all of those reasons, using all the channels that we have available – and those are diplomatic and, of course, intelligence-led channels – we seek to deal with HTS where we have to.”
France, meanwhile, announced on Sunday it would send a diplomatic mission to Syria to make first contact with the rebels. The French mission would be the first from a Western power as allies contemplate lifting sanctions and engaging.
On Sunday, Turkey also offered to give military training to the Islamist-led rebels governing Syria – the latest move by Ankara to position itself to take a major role in the country’s future.
Yasar Guler, the Turkish defence minister, said his country would give the support “if the new administration requests it”.
He added that the rebel Government should be “given a chance” after assurances that it would respect governmental institutions and international organisations, such as the UN.
Turkey, a Nato member, backed some of the Syrian rebels who toppled Bashar al-Assad’s regime last weekend, ending almost 14 years of civil war.
Ibrahim Kalin, Ankara’s intelligence chief, then visited Damascus on Thursday for talks with the new rebel leadership, according to the Syrian Information Ministry.
Turkey’s engagement with the new Syrian authorities comes amid uncertainty over Russia’s future there, and as Western countries consider working with the rebels.
HTS, which led the rebels who seized Damascus last week, is attempting to transition from a militant insurgency to a more legitimate governing authority, but is still designated as a terrorist organisation by countries including the US and the UK.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said over the weekend Washington had made direct contact with the rebels, following earlier reports Biden sent messages to HTS via Turkey.
Britain last week suggested it would reconsider HTS’ proscribed status, as it is currently legally impossible for its government to work with the group. US contact with HTS also underscores international efforts to support Syria’s transition and stabilise the country.
Russia, meanwhile, a key backer of the Assad regime, has been withdrawing troops from parts of northern Syria in recent days. However, sources told Reuters Moscow did not intend to abandon its two major bases in the country.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad recently fled the country as rebel fighters gained control over the territory. Photo / Getty Images
The Kremlin claims it is in discussions with Syria’s new government over the Tartus naval port, Russia’s only Mediterranean repair and resupply hub, and the Hmeimim air base, a major staging post for military and mercenary activity in Africa.
The growing relationship between Ankara and the new Syrian government will be a cause for concern in Aanes, the Kurdish-led autonomous region in the northeast of the country, where Turkish-backed rebels have been carrying out an offensive against Kurdish-led forces since early December.
Guler said on Sunday the aim of this operation was to “dismantle” the People’s Defence Units (YPG).
Turkey sees both the YPG and the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) it is part of as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which has fought a decades-long insurgency against Ankara.
Aanes’ political leadership has said it was keenly seeking negotiations with the new Syrian Government.
Critics of the Turkish-backed operation against Kurdish-led forces say it could further destabilise Syria, with the Turkish-led rebels already seizing control of the city of Manbij and advancing towards Kobani on the Turkish border.
Kurdish channels reported on Saturday that US armoured vehicles had entered Kobani, with videos circulating on social media. The SDF warned of an imminent rebel offensive against the city after a four-day ceasefire was agreed on Thursday.
Iran, a vital backer of the previous regime, has been dealt a significant blow as the rebel takeover means it can no longer supply Hezbollah, its Lebanese proxy, with routes through Syria.
Assad’s government had provided a land corridor for weapons and materiel to be sent from Iran to Lebanon, but Naim Qassem, Hezbollah’s leader, acknowledged on Saturday it had been lost.
The group will now look for alternative supply routes or see whether the Syria route could be re-established under “a new regime”, Qassem said in a televised speech.
Israel, meanwhile, has launched dozens of overnight airstrikes on Syria, firing 61 missiles at former Assad-regime military sites in less than five hours on Saturday evening, according to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
However, HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani has said the new government is not interested in a conflict with Israel, telling Syrian state media there are “no excuses for any foreign intervention in Syria now after the Iranians have left”.
“We are not in the process of engaging in a conflict with Israel,” he said, adding that “diplomatic solutions” were the only way to ensure stability.
That is despite a statement by Israeli defence minister Israel Katz saying Israeli troops would remain for the winter on Mt Hermon after seizing the Golan Heights buffer zone last week.
On Friday, Israel conducted secret talks over Syria with Jordan, according to Axios, with officials reportedly discussing engagement with the new rebel government.
