U.S. drops $10M bounty for HTS leader after 'very productive' diplomat meeting in Damascus

Source: CBC Canada

Senior U.S. diplomats visiting Damascus on Friday met with Syria's de-facto new ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa and held a "good" and "very productive" meeting with him about Syria's political transition and decided to remove a bounty on his head.

In their first in-person meeting with the leaders of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, since the former al Qaeda affiliate overthrew Syria's long-time President Bashar al-Assad two weeks ago, al-Sharaa "came across as pragmatic," Barbara Leaf, top Middle East diplomat at the State Department, told reporters.

"It was a good first meeting. We will judge by the deeds, not just by words," Leaf, who was the head of the U.S. delegation, said in a briefing and added that the U.S. officials reiterated that Syria's new government should be inclusive. It should also ensure that terrorist groups cannot pose a threat, she said.

"Ahmed al-Sharaa committed to this," Leaf said. "So, based on our discussion, I told him we would not be pursuing rewards for justice," she said, referring to a $10 million bounty that U.S. had put on the HTS leader's head.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/us-syria-visit-1.7416007