The US takes a big decision, and withdraws the reward declared on the Syrian rebel leader who ousted Assad.

The US government announced that it has decided not to pursue a proposed USD 10 million reward for the capture of a Syrian rebel leader. The decision was taken after a meeting in Damascus between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, who was formerly associated with al-Qaeda, and the top US diplomat for the Middle East, Barbara Leaf. Barbara Leaf is the first US diplomat in Syria since Assad's ouster to lead a delegation to meet Syria's new leader.

Earlier this month, Syrian rebels overthrew the 50-year-long rule of the Assad family. It is being claimed that Turkey and the US have helped these rebels fighting the Assad government. The US was considering removing Ahmed al-Shara from the most wanted list ever since the rebel organization took power.

HTS still on the list of terrorist organizations!

Ahmed al-Shara's organization HTS has still not been removed from the list of foreign terrorist organizations. Leaf did not say whether the sanctions imposed on the organization would be relaxed or not, but he told the media that al-Shara has promised to renounce terrorism and as a result the US will no longer offer bounties.

“We discussed the need to ensure that terrorist groups do not pose any threat to either forces inside or outside Syria, including to US allies in the region,” Leaf said.

"We will judge by our actions, not by our words"

Leaf and other US officials said that while al-Sharaa's public statements about protecting the rights of minorities and women are welcome, they doubt whether he will follow through on them in the long term. They acknowledged that this was a good first meeting, adding that we will judge by actions, not just by words.

Let us tell you that the purpose of the US delegation's visit to Syria was to build pressure for an inclusive government in the country and to obtain information about the missing American journalist Austin Tice.