Diplomats from US, Turkey, EU, and Arab nations agree on Syria\u2019s future government, respecting minorities
\n AQABA, JORDAN
\nTop diplomats from the United States, Turkey, the European Union and Arab nations have agreed that a new government in Syria should respect minority rights, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Saturday following talks in Jordan and direct contacts with the rebels who ousted President Bashar al-Assad.
\nThe meetings occurred as regional and global powers scramble for influence over whatever government replaces Assad, forced to flee a week ago. Blinken said at a news conference that the group had agreed a joint communique that also calls for an inclusive and representative government that respects the rights of minorities and does not offer \u201ca base for terrorist groups\u201d.
\n\u201cToday\u2019s agreement sends a unified message to the new interim authority and parties in Syria on the principles crucial to securing much needed support and recognition,\u201d Blinken said.
\nBlinken also said U.S. officials had now had \u201cdirect contact\u201d with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and had urged them and other rebel groups to assist with locating U.S. journalist Austin Tice, who was detained in Syria in 2012. The US has also shared with actors in Syria what it wants to see from the country\u2019s transition, he added. Syria\u2019s neighbour Jordan was hosting Saturday\u2019s gathering in Aqaba.
\nRussia and Iran, who were Assad\u2019s key supporters, were not invited. Blinken, UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pederson and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, Fidan and foreign ministers from Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar met around a circular table at a Jordanian government guesthouse.
\nThere was no Syrian representative at the table. The Arab diplomats earlier met separately and issued a statement calling for a peaceful and inclusive political transition that leads towards elections and a new constitution.
\nArab diplomats attending the talks told Reuters they were seeking assurances from Turkey that it supported this, as well as preventing the partition of Syria on sectarian lines.
\n Turkey and the United States, both NATO members, have conflicting interests when it comes to some of the rebels.
\nTurkish-backed rebels in northern Syria have clashed with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The SDF, which controls some of Syria\u2019s largest oil fields, is the main ally in a U.S. coalition against Islamic State militants. It is spearheaded by YPG militia, a group that Ankara sees as an extension of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants who have fought the Turkish state for 40 years and who it outlaws.
\nBlinken told Turkish officials during a visit to Ankara on Thursday and Friday that Islamic State must not be able to regroup, and the SDF must not be distracted from its role of securing camps holding IS fighters, according to a US official. Turkish leaders agreed, the official with the US delegation said. Fidan told Turkish TV later on Friday that the elimination of the YPG was Turkey\u2019s \u201cstrategic target\u201d and urged the group\u2019s commanders to leave Syria.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Diplomats from US, Turkey, EU, and Arab nations agree on Syria\u2019s future government, respecting minorities AQABA, JORDAN Top diplomats from the United States, Turkey, the European Union and Arab nations have agreed that a new government in Syria should respect minority rights, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Saturday following talks in Jordan […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":449667,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-449652","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n