Syria's HTS chief, Qatari official pledge to forge closer ties

Damascus, Dec 23 Syria's Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) leader, Ahmad al-Shara, held talks on Monday with visiting Qatari Minister of State at the Foreign Ministry Mohammed bin Abdulaziz al-Khulaifi, with both sides pledging to forge a broad strategic partnership and accelerate Syria's recovery.

During the meeting, al-Shara hailed Qatar's "honorable stance toward the Syrian people" and emphasized Damascus' intention to tap into Qatari expertise across various fields.

"We plan to begin extensive strategic cooperation with Qatar in the coming period," he said, adding that the Gulf nation would play an "effective and significant" role in Syria's future. He also extended an invitation to the Emir of Qatar to visit Syria.

Al-Khulaifi, for his part, underscored Doha's commitment to supporting Syrians during their transition and stressed that "the Syrian people alone have the right to determine their destiny without any external guardianship."

He affirmed that "Qatar will remain by the side of our Syrian brothers, now more than ever," Xinhua news agency reported.

The visit by the Qatari delegation headed by al-Khulaifi marks the first of its kind in 13 years, according to Qatar's Foreign Ministry.

Meanwhile, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed bin Mohammed Al Ansari said on social media platform X that the delegation traveled to Damascus "on board the first Qatar Airways plane to land at a Syrian airport" since the fall of Bashar Al-Assad's government.

Qatar officially reopened its embassy in the Syrian capital Damascus on Saturday, which was closed in 2011 following the outbreak of anti-government protests in Syria.

On Friday, a high-level US delegation had met with Ahmad al-Shara, the commander of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

In a statement, the US State Department said the diplomats "will be engaging directly with the Syrian people ... about their vision for the future of their country and how the United States can help support them."

The officials are Barbara Leaf, the Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern affairs; Roger D. Carstens, the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs; and Daniel Rubinstein, former special envoy for Syria.

Syria's local news outlet al-Watan Online said the meeting discussed sanctions relief on Syria and the possible removal of the HTS from international terrorism lists.