“We’ve been in contact with HTS and with other parties,“ Blinken told reporters after talks on Syria in the Jordanian Red Sea resort of Aqaba.
Blinken said that the contact was partly related to the search for Austin Tice, the US journalist kidnapped in 2012 near the start of the brutal civil war.
He said that in the dialogue with HTS the United States also “shared the principles” on Syria that he has publicly laid out.
Referring to HTS statements since their victory, Blinken said: “We appreciate some of the positive words we heard in recent days, but what matters is action - and sustained action.
If a transition moves forward, “we in turn will look at various sanctions and other measures that we have taken and respond in kind.”
Blinken was closing a regional tour in which he has sought common ground after HTS overthrew Bashar al-Assad, whose family ruled brutally for half a century.
In a joint statement, the participants called for a Syrian-led transition to “produce an inclusive, non-sectarian and representative government formed through a transparent process”.
“Syria finally has the chance to end decades of isolation,“ the group said.
- Terrorist designation -
The designation severely impedes activities of businesses and aid workers who risk falling foul of US law enforcement if they are seen as directly supporting a terrorist group.
Some analysts note that HTS has not focused on US or other Western targets.
In Britain, a senior minister said that the government would decide quickly whether to remove the terrorist designation but Prime Minister Keir Starmer said it was still “far too early” to do so.
“No one has any illusions about how challenging this time will be, but there’s also something incredibly powerful -- the Syrian people determined to break with the past and shape a better future,“ he said.
Blinken said it was for Syrians to decide how to incorporate Kurds in the country but he hailed SDF fighters -- who are bitterly opposed by Turkey -- for their role in fighting the Islamic State group.
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