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Syria's Jolani meets UK diplomats, urges Britain to lift sanctions

British diplomats have held talks with Abu Mohammed Jolani, leader of the Syrian opposition group that overthrew the Assad government.

Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) is a proscribed terrorist organisation in the UK and expressing support for the group is a crime. However, British diplomats were photographed with Jolani, whose real name is Ahmed al-Sharaa, in Damascus on Monday.

This came after Downing Street insisted last week that it could still engage with HTS without violating the government's anti-terror legislation. 

Jolani met with Stephen Hickey, director of the Middle East department at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and Ann Snow, the UK’s special representative for Syria.

HTS said the discussions focused on the "latest developments" in Syria, while the foreign office told Middle East Eye that the talks aimed to explore how Britain could support a peaceful, Syrian-led transition process. 

Read more: Syria's Jolani meets UK diplomats, urges Britain to lift sanctions

Abu Mohammed Jolani met with Stephen Hickey, director of the Middle East department at the foreign office, and Ann Snow, the UK's special representative for Syria (AFP)
Abu Mohammed Jolani met with Stephen Hickey, director of the Middle East department at the foreign office, and Ann Snow, the UK's special representative for Syria (AFP)