US Spoke Directly With Syrian Rebel Government, Blinken Says
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Antony Blinken delivers a statement after the meeting with the foreign ministers of the Arab Contact Group on Syria in Aqaba, Jordan, on Dec. 14, 2024.
Photographer: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
The US has had direct talks with the rebel group that took power in Syria, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Saturday in Jordan, as he wrapped up a Middle East trip focused on the way forward after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
Blinken also held out the prospect of sanctions relief, saying the US “will look at various sanctions and other measures we’ve taken and respond in kind” as Syria’s post-Assad transition meets goals laid out by the US, Blinken told reporters in Aqaba.