Blinken confirms US in direct contact with HTS in Syria

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has confirmed the Biden administration is in direct contact with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the armed Syrian opposition group – designated a ‘foreign terrorist organisation’ by the US – that overthrew Bashar al-Assad. Blinken made this statement at a news conference in Jordan where regional and Western diplomats met to discuss Syria’s future.