Dubai: The Group of Seven (G-7) leaders have expressed conditional support for a new rebel-led Syrian government, emphasising the importance of a transition process that respects the rights of all minorities.
According to a draft statement obtained by Bloomberg, the G-7 is urging opposition groups vying for leadership to uphold the rights of all Syrians. The statement, expected to be finalised later this week, highlights the group’s hope for the safe return of millions of Syrians who fled during the civil war, many of whom sought refuge in G-7 countries such as Germany.
The report comes in the wake of President Bashar Al Assad’s overthrow, and the appointment of Mohammad Al Bashir as head of a Syrian transitional government that will be in place until March 1, state media said Tuesday.
Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States make up the G7 allies, who coordinate broadly on diplomatic and economic policies.
The endorsement provides a measure of legitimacy to opposition groups led by Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS), a former Al Qaida affiliate designated as a terrorist organisation by the United States and other nations.
Meanwhile, Qatar Qatari officials are in contact with HTS as well as other groups in Syria, an official briefed on the developments told AFP on Tuesday.
“The Qataris have established the first channel of communication with HTS. Communication with HTS and Qatari diplomats are expected to continue in the next 24 hours with Al Bashir,” the official said on condition of anonymity, referring to senior rebel Mohammed Bashir.
Qatar - which was one of the main backers of the armed rebellion that erupted after Assad’s government crushed a peaceful uprising in 2011 - had been a stern critic of the ousted leader.
Al Assad, in power since 2000, was toppled over the weekend following a swift campaign by HTS and its allies.
The official, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions, added the “focus of the communication with HTS and others is on the need... to maintain calm and preserve Syria’s public institutions during the transition period”.
Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari, while declining to say whether his country was speaking to HTS specifically, had previously said the Gulf state was “in contact with all the groups that we have always been in contact with within the Syrian mosaics”.
The spokesman also noted Qatar’s Syrian embassy, which it opened to opposition groups during the rebellion against Al Assad, was now the “first embassy of the new reality in Syria”.
“I can’t specifically comment on specific calls or meetings that are taking place at the moment but I can tell you that our doors are open, we are talking to everybody,” he said.
Qatar hosted meetings on Saturday with Russian, Iranian, Turkish and Arab officials on Syria before the discussions were overtaken by events and Al Assad was toppled.
“Consensus was reached by all parties at Saturday’s meeting, the priority is to bring the situation in Syria under control and to ensure that extremist groups like Daesh (Islamic State) are not able to gain a foothold in Syria,” the official added.
Al Bashir, who previously headed a quasi-government established by HTS in 2017 to administer Idlib and other rebel-controlled areas, is expected to continue discussions with Qatari diplomats over the coming days.
