US officials are in direct contact with the victorious Syrian rebels.

The US has been in “direct contact” with the HTS rebels who now control Syria after being overthrown. Assad regimeSecretary of State Antony Blanken said.

This is the first acknowledgment of direct US contact with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which the US currently designates as a terrorist organization.

Blanken was speaking in Jordan after talks with representatives of several Arab countries, Turkey and Europe to discuss Syria’s future.

Officials agreed to support a peaceful transition process in the country, with Jordan’s foreign minister saying regional powers did not want to see it “descend into chaos”.

A joint declaration urged the Syrian government to respect the rights of minorities and not provide a haven for “terrorist groups”.

After the tumultuous events of recent weeks, negotiations inside and outside Syria have been critical to establishing a new form of governance that represents all Syrians.

At the meeting in Jordan, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fawad Hussain expressed concern about Syria’s future in the Middle East and beyond.

He said regional players did not want to see another Libya – referring to the chaos that followed the ouster of Colonel Gaddafi.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that Syria’s existing institutions should be preserved and reformed.

“Terrorism should never be allowed to take advantage of the transitional period. And we have to coordinate our efforts and learn from the mistakes of the past,” Fidan said, according to Reuters.

The most powerful rebel group, the HTS, has signaled that it is seeking an inclusive government. But the group’s violent jihadist past has left some doubting whether it will follow through on such promises.

Blanken has said Washington is in direct contact with HTS — particularly on the fate of long-missing American journalist Austin Tice.

“We are in contact with HTS and other parties,” Blanken told reporters in Jordan.

No Syrian representative was absent from the talks in Jordan. The foreign ministers of the eight Arab countries participating in the meeting said they want to ensure that Syria is united and not divided along sectarian lines.

Also absent were the two countries that provided Assad with the financial support that kept him in power for so long – Iran and Russia.

The shadow of all these external forces that have been bearing down on Syria for so long hangs heavily on the country’s future.

The emerging political institutions in Syria will need coordination not only inside the country, but also outside, if there is to be any real hope for the Syrian people to build on the wonderful taste of freedom they enjoyed last week. What is the experience?

Syrian rebels ended Bashar al-Assad’s 24-year rule, with opposition forces seizing the capital and forcing the president to flee to Russia on December 8.

The coup followed a 13-year civil war, which began after Assad’s crackdown on pro-democracy protests. The fighting killed more than half a million people, displaced millions, and engulfed international powers and their proxies.

HTS rebel leader Ahmad al-Shara, who previously used this name. Abu Muhammad al-Jolanihas appointed Muhammad al-Bashir. Interim Prime Minister of SyriaAnd the world is now watching how Syria’s political landscape changes after the end of half a century of rule by the Assad family.

HTS was established under a different name, Jabhat al-Nusraas a direct affiliate of al-Qaeda in 2011. It was considered one of the most effective and deadly groups opposing President Assad.

It was – and still is – banned as a terrorist group by the United Nations, the United States, Turkey and other countries.

But al-Sharia has publicly broken ranks with al-Qaeda, and HTS’s recent messaging is one of inclusiveness and a rejection of violence or revenge.