Moscow says it’s made contact with Syrian jihadists
Russian diplomats in Damascus have met with representatives of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the jihadist group that recently seized power in Syria, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov has revealed.
HTS, formerly known as the Al-Nusra Front, launched a surprise offensive out of Idlib at the end of November, capturing Damascus last week after token resistance from the Syrian army. President Bashar Assad has since been granted asylum in Moscow.
“Contact has been established with the [HTS] political committee, which is currently working in one of the hotels in Damascus,” Bogdanov told reporters in Moscow on Thursday.
“Representatives of our embassy met with them and discussed issues, first of all ensuring the security of our diplomatic mission and Russian citizens who are on the territory of Syria,” he added. Bogdanov described the discussions as “proceeding in a constructive manner,” and said that Moscow hopes that HTS lives up to all the promises it has made because they “bear responsibility for the situation in the city.”
Most importantly, he said, the militants need to “prevent any excesses and ensure the safety of diplomatic representatives of foreign states, including the Russian embassy.”
Russia sent an expeditionary force into Syria in 2015, helping Assad fight against Islamic State (IS, also known as ISIS) terrorists as well as Al-Nusra and other groups. Moscow’s counter-terrorism mission is not over yet, according to Bogdanov.
“The bases remain on Syrian territory, where they were,” the diplomat told reporters, referring to the naval facility in Tartus and Khmeimim Air Base near Latakia. The previous Syrian government leased both locations to Russia through 2066, but it remains to be seen whether the new regime will honor this deal.
Meanwhile, much of Syria’s military capabilities have been destroyed in recent days by a series of Israeli airstrikes as West Jerusalem seized the opportunity to inflict damage on airports, naval bases, air defense sites, and industrial parks.
