US Special Envoy Tom Barak stated on Thursday (13/11) that Syria will take an active role in assisting the United States in confronting armed organizations, including Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), Hamas, and Hezbollah.
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His statement came after the historic visit of Syria’s transitional president, Ahmed al-Saraa, to the White House —the first since 1946— and the announcement that Syria has become the 90th member of the international coalition against ISIS.
In a post on X, Barak stated that “Damascus will actively contribute to dismantling the remnants of ISIS, IRGC, Hamas, Hezbollah, and other terrorist networks.”
“Hamas no longer maintains armed presence in Syria,” says US special envoy
Barak recalled that the Revolutionary Guards and Hezbollah were supporters of Bashar al-Assad, who was removed in December by a rebel coalition led by al-Saraa, while confirming that Hamas no longer maintains an armed presence in Syria.
Barak also mentioned that he had a “decisive” meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan, and Syrian official Asaad al-Shaibani, focusing on the next steps for “integrating the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) into Syria’s new economic, defense, and state structure.” The SDF, composed primarily of Kurdish forces and supported by the US, played a crucial role in expelling ISIS from its last strongholds in Syria.
SDF leader Mazloum Abdi had told Agence France-Presse last month that a “preliminary agreement” had been reached with Damascus for integrating his forces into the country’s military and security structures. In a post on platform X on Tuesday, Abdi stated that he discussed with Barak “our commitment to accelerate the integration of SDF into the Syrian state.” The agreement between al-Saraa’s administration and the SDF was signed in March, however it faces implementation obstacles.
Finally, Barak noted that during the meeting with Rubio, Fidan, and al-Shaibani, they also discussed the issue of “reshaping Turkish-Syrian-Israeli relations and promoting alignment that supports the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, as well as various issues concerning Lebanon’s borders.”
