Blinken meets Jordan's king in Syria diplomacy push

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Jordan’s King Abdullah in the Red Sea town of Aqaba on Thursday as he arrived in the region for talks on Syria following the ousting of Bashar Al-Assad, Reuters has reported. He will also meet Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi today before heading for Turkiye, and will discuss Israel’s conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon during his trip.

This week Blinken has set out Washington’s hopes for Syria’s political transition, saying that the US would recognise a future Syrian government that amounts to a credible, inclusive and non-sectarian governing body.

The US official will discuss America’s priorities of ensuring Syria’s chemical weapons stockpiles are secured and destroyed; facilitating the flow of humanitarian aid; and ensuring that the country is not used as a “base of terrorism”, explained the State Department.

Opposition group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which the United States calls a terrorist organisation, is playing a key role in Damascus after it led the ouster of Assad, ending a brutal 50-year family dynasty in a swift takeover after 13 years of civil war.

READ: Israel advances further in southern Syria and hinders work of UN peacekeepers