Gulf states reach out to new Syrian leaders ahead of Jordan talks: What we know
Bahrain's King Hamad sent a letter to HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, while the UAE has held direct contact with opposition groups. Qatar is set to reopen embassy in Damascus soon.
DUBAI — Gulf states such as the UAE, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are preparing for the ongoing transition in Syria by reaching out to the rebel government led by interim Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir ahead of talks in Jordan on Saturday.
Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, whose country holds the presidency of the Arab League, reached out on Friday to Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the leader of the Islamist rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), who now goes by his real name, Ahmed al-Sharaa.
In a letter to Golani, which was the first public overture made to the rebel government by a Gulf state, the Bahraini ruler said he was prepared to "continue consultations and coordination with Syria."
Concurrently, the UAE's deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, spoke separately to Qatar's prime minister and minister of foreign affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman; Egypt's foreign minister, Badr Abdelatty; Jordan’s foreign affairs minister, Ayman Safadi; Morocco's foreign minister, Nasser Bourita; Russia's foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov; Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi; and Kuwait's foreign minister, Abdullah al-Yahya.
