UK Diplomats Meet with HTS Leader amid Ongoing Conflict in Syria

The meeting took place on Monday, with photographs released by HTS's military operations showing the talks between Al-Julani and British officials, including Ann Snow, the UK’s special envoy to Syria. According to HTS, the discussions focused on the latest developments in Syria.

This meeting follows the confirmation by British Foreign Secretary David Lammy that the UK had initiated diplomatic contact with HTS, which is classified as a terrorist organization by the UK.

Lammy emphasized that while HTS remains banned in Britain, diplomatic engagement is necessary to address issues such as securing Syria’s chemical weapons and establishing a representative government.

The British government has expressed its commitment to supporting an “inclusive, Syrian-led, and Syrian-owned” political transition in Syria.

Lammy further clarified that a British delegation had been sent to engage with interim Syrian authorities and civil society groups after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government earlier this month.

Al-Julani, the founder of the Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda and former deputy commander of the Wahhabi Daesh [Arabic acronym for “ISIS” / “ISIL”] terrorist group, has been vocal in his calls for Western sanctions on Syria to be lifted.

He dismissed the terrorist designations of his group by the US, UK and other nations, claiming that HTS was merely engaged in military activities.

The meeting follows HTS’s surprise two-pronged offensive on Syria’s northwestern city of Aleppo and the Idlib countryside on November 27. The militants seized several major cities, including Hama, Homs, Daraa and Suwayda, before capturing Damascus on December 8.