French mission in Syria, UK contacts HTS, Russia evacuates some staff

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
15 Dec 2024 21:22

For the first time in 12 years, French diplomats visit Damascus, while the UK confirms "diplomatic contact" with Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham.

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A masked opposition fighter carries a flag of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in the courtyard of the Umayyad Mosque in the old walled city of Damascus, Syria, on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (AP)

For the first time in 12 years, a French diplomatic mission is visiting Damascus on Tuesday, as confirmed by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot.

Barrot explained that the purpose of the visit, which involves sending four diplomats to Syria, is to "recover our assets there, establish initial contact with the new authorities, and assess the urgent humanitarian needs of the population."

The delegation will also seek to "verify whether the somewhat encouraging statements made by this new authority, which called for calm and seems not to have been involved in violations, are actually being implemented on the ground."

Qatar to re-open its embassy in Syria

The Qatari embassy in Syria will resume its work starting the day after tomorrow, Tuesday, Qatar News Agency reported.

A Qatari diplomatic delegation had arrived in Damascus, the capital of Syria, to complete the procedures for reopening Qatar's embassy in Syria, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari said on Sunday.

The delegation met with representatives of "Syria's transitional government" and reaffirmed Qatar's commitment to supporting the Syrian people in their pursuit of security, peace, development, and prosperity, according to Al Ansari.

Al Ansari also noted that participants of the meeting also discussed ways to enhance the flow of Qatari humanitarian aid and assessed the urgent needs of the Syrian population during this critical phase.

Qatar's embassy in Damascus has been shut since July 2011 when it withdrew its ambassador from the country.

Britain confirms diplomatic contact with HTS

In parallel, British Foreign Minister David Lammy revealed that Britain has been engaging diplomatically with Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the group currently leading the new Syrian administration.

"HTS remains a proscribed organization, but we can have diplomatic contact and so we do have diplomatic contact as you would expect," Lammy stated. He emphasized that Britain uses "all the channels that we have available, and those are diplomatic and, of course, intelligence-led channels," to engage with HTS when necessary.

This statement followed US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's confirmation on Saturday that the United States has also made direct contact with HTS.

Russia evacuates diplomatic personnel from Syria

Meanwhile, Russia has evacuated part of its diplomatic missions from Syria, along with diplomats from Belarus, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), and Abkhazia, as confirmed by the Russian Foreign Ministry on Sunday.

According to the Ministry’s Crisis Management Center, "On December 15, a special flight of the Russian Defense Ministry's Aerospace Forces airlifted part of the Russian diplomatic missions in Damascus from the Hmeimim airbase to the Chkalovsky airport in Moscow."

The evacuation also included the personnel of the diplomatic missions of Belarus, DPRK, and Abkhazia.

Despite the evacuation, the Russian embassy in Damascus continues to operate as normal, the statement added.