The delegation will meet with the newly established interim Syrian authorities.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced on Monday that the UK government has sent a delegation of high-ranking officials to Syria. In the country, they will meet with members of the interim government authorities. TASR informs about it according to the AFP agency.
“I can confirm that this week we sent a delegation of high-ranking officials to Damascus to meet with the newly established interim Syrian authorities and representatives of civil groups in Syria,” Lammy said at a press conference.
According to the minister, the delegation will deliver a message to the interim leadership that Britain supports “an inclusive transformative political process in Syria”.
Britain will provide humanitarian aid
Lammy also announced that London will send humanitarian aid to Syria in the amount of more than 60 million euros and will also contribute to securing the arsenal of chemical weapons that remained in the country after the fall of the former regime.
Syrian rebels captured Damascus in early December and overthrew the government of longtime President Bashar al-Assad. The most important rebel group that led the successful offensive is Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). It originally arose from the Syrian branch of the al-Qaeda terrorist organization.
HTS has since renounced its jihadist ideology. Its leader, Abu Muhammad Jawlani, who now goes by his civil name Ahmad Shara, says he has renounced his extremist past and advocates pluralism and tolerance for other religious groups in Syria.
Nevertheless, HTS is considered a terrorist group by several countries, including Britain. Shara himself is also on the list of terrorists. British Intergovernmental Relations Minister Pat McFadden said last week that the British government may reconsider the inclusion of HTS on this list in the future.
