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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Politics
Harry Taylor

British contact with banned Syrian rebel group risks legitimising them – Tories

HTS Syria Wendy Morton Anneliese Dodds Bashar Assad Ahmad alSharaa Hayat Tahrir alSham postAssad United Kingdom Foreign Office
The leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Ahmad al-Sharaa, (Abu Mohammed al-Golani), right, as he meets with the United Nations’ special envoy to Syria, Geir Pederson, in Damascus (SANA/AP) - (AP)

Britain’s diplomatic contact with banned Syrian rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) risks giving the organisation legitimacy in the country after the fall of President Bashar Assad.

Senior officials met with the leader of the group earlier this week in the Syrian capital, Damascus.

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