Posted in: 20/10/2022 – 23:40Last update: 20/10/2022 – 23:38
Washington (AFP) – On Thursday the United States warned against any normalization of relations with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and believed that his reconciliation with the Palestinian Hamas movement shows his “isolation”.
On Wednesday, the Syrian president received a delegation from the Palestinian Islamic movement, as he is gradually restoring relations with the Arab world, having largely won the bloody 11-year war.
“The Assad regime’s contact with this terrorist organization confirms its isolation,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters.
“This harms the interests of the Palestinian people and undermines global efforts to combat terrorism in the region and beyond,” he added.
“We will continue to refuse any support for the rehabilitation of the Assad regime, especially from organizations designated as terrorists, such as Hamas,” he added.
Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, has long allied with Syria, but distanced itself from it in 2012, denouncing the crackdown on protests.
The visit to Damascus also comes in light of the improvement in relations between Hamas and Hezbollah, with Iranian mediation.
Assad visited the United Arab Emirates in March, in a sign of normalization condemned by the United States, a close partner of the Arab states of the Gulf.
© 2022 AFP
