The UK needs to talk to Syria’s leaders to make sure “what comes next is better”, Sir Keir Starmer has said after officials met with the rebel group that has taken power in the country.
A senior Tory said 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 HTS leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, formerly known as Mohammed al-Golani, earlier this week in the Syrian capital, Damascus.
There is a risk of legitimisation of the organisation and its position in Syria. These are very early days in the new post-Assad reality and we need to judge HTS by its actions and not its words
After Mr Assad fled the country nearly a fortnight ago, HTS named Mohammed al-Bashir as caretaker prime minister to lead an interim government until March 2025.
Photographs showed senior officials, including the UK’s special representative for Syria, Ann Snow, meeting Mr al-Sharaa.
Sir Keir said the situation in Syria is “fast moving” but that the fall of Mr Assad was a “good thing”.
However, he warned against making the mistake of “thinking that what comes next is necessarily going to be different and better”, as he answered questions from senior MPs at the Liaison Committee.
Sir Keir said the Government was “talking to regional leaders” and the UK’s international allies about Syria on “how we collectively ensure that what comes next is better”.
“Obviously, that also includes talking to those on the ground.
“I won’t go into the detail of that, but you will understand that those conversations need to be had to ensure that if it is possible we will have a regime that complies with international law, that protects the rights of civilians and minorities, and that this can be a genuine turning point for Syria.”
Earlier, Shadow Foreign Office minister Wendy Morton said HTS would gain credibility in Syria after UK Government representatives met with them.
“The Government needs to be extremely careful, because by dealing with HTS and publicly doing so, there is a risk of legitimisation of the organisation and its position in Syria. These are very early days in the new post-Assad reality and we need to judge HTS by its actions and not its words,” Ms Morton told the Commons.
HTS was banned as a terror organisation within the UK in 2017 due to their connections with al-Qaeda.
Ms Morton asked if HTS was the only such organisation in Syria with a diplomatic channel to the UK and if Foreign Office minister Anneliese Dodds believed HTS would lead to a peaceful transition of power to a “genuine civilian government which protects minority groups”.
Ms Dodds said the UK Government supported the transition to a “secure and peaceful” Syria in the aftermath of Mr Assad’s rule.
The UK has given Syria £61 million in aid in total, after more was announced on Saturday. It will help provide healthcare, nutrition and support displaced children, she said.
Those conversations need to be had to ensure that if it is possible we will have a regime that complies with international law, that protects the rights of civilians and minorities, and that this can be a genuine turning point for Syria
More than 16 million Syrians are in need of humanitarian assistance, inside Syria alone.
Ms Dodds said: “We are hopeful that anyone seeking a role in governing Syria will demonstrate a commitment to the protection of human rights, including for women and girls, to unfettered access for humanitarian aid, to safe destruction of chemical weapon stockpiles and to combating terrorism and extremism.
“The UK urges the transitional government to adhere to these principles, to build a more hopeful, secure and peaceful Syria.”
She added: “Along with our partners we want to see a new political process that is comprehensive, representative, inclusive and most importantly, determined by the Syrian people themselves.”
She went on to say: “For all these reasons it is right that the UK seeks to use all of the channels available to us to deal with HTS, where we have to.”
