Diplomacy is often known as the art of making the impossible possible. If so, Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria’s de facto leader, has proved a master of persuasion and compromise. Despite his Islamist faction, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), being blacklisted as a terrorist organisation by the US, UK, EU and UN, Mr Sharaa has welcomed their officials to Damascus. His “productive” talks with the US led to a $10m bounty on his head being lifted. To signal change, he has shed his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, and rebel fatigues to steer Syria away from 54 years of Assad rule.
The visits signal an international desire to recalibrate in response to Syria’s shifting power dynamics. But whether they lead to concrete measures remains an open question. There is a pressing need to do something: more than 90% of the population is living below the poverty line. More than 6 million people have left the country and 7 million remain displaced within its borders. Mr Sharaa would like HTS to be taken off the terrorist list, recognition to be given to his caretaker government, and sanctions imposed during Bashar al-Assad’s reign lifted, so the country can be rebuilt.
