Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha was in Damascus on Monday and met with Syria’s de facto leader and other senior members of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the al-Qaeda offshoot that led the offensive to oust former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Ukrainian intelligence supported the HTS offensive against Assad by providing drones and drone operators weeks before it was launched. Assad was allied with Moscow and recognized the independence of the Donetsk and Luhansk Republics in eastern Ukraine in 2022, which led to Kyiv ending diplomatic relations with Damascus.
Sybiha said Ukraine was ready to restore relations with the new HTS-led Syrian government and expressed hope that “mutual recognition of territorial integrity and sovereignty will pave the way for the restoration of diplomatic relations, political dialogue, and the work of diplomatic institutions.”
Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, the foreign minister for the HTS-led “transitional” government, said he hoped for “strategic partnerships” with Ukraine. “Certainly, the Syrian people and the Ukrainian people have the same experience and the same suffering that we endured over 14 years,” he said.
In a post on X, Sybhia said he delivered a message from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Syria’s de facto leader, Abu Mohammad al-Julani, who has been going by his real name, Ahmed al-Sharaa, since taking over the country.
Sybhia said he “personally conveyed the message of Ukraine’s President
[Zelensky] to the Syrian people: we are with you and ready to assist in restoring normal life, stability, and food security.”
Julani previously led the al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria, known as the al-Nusra Front, which he merged with other Islamist factions in 2017 to form HTS. The US still considers HTS a “foreign terrorist organization” but celebrated the group’s takeover of Damascus and removed a $10 million bounty on Julani’s head.
