“UNITY, INCLUSIVENESS”
Blinken said the future government of Syria should be “credible, inclusive and non-sectarian”.
Laying out US priorities, Blinken said the new government must “uphold clear commitments to fully respect the rights of minorities” and allow the flow of humanitarian assistance.
The United States wanted the next government to “prevent Syria from being used as a base for terrorism”, he added.
Although they no longer hold any territory in Syria, the jihadists of the Islamic State group remain active.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said IS fighters killed 54 government troops after capturing them as they fled across the vast Syrian desert.
The UN envoy for Syria said the groups that forced Assad to flee must transform their “good messages” into actions on the ground.
“They have been sending messages of unity, of inclusiveness,” Geir Pedersen said. “What we need not to see is … that this is not followed up in practice in the days and the weeks ahead of us,” he added.
Syria is home to diverse ethnic and religious groups, some of which are living in regions semi-independent or autonomous of the regime in Damascus under Assad, with their own local governance, practices and languages, said Holmes.
“Forming a new government for the whole country and bringing together these diverse factions will be a very major undertaking” she told CNA’s Asia First programme.
“These are truly historic events that will have ramifications not just for Syria but for the wider Middle East, and globally.”
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas warned of the risks of sectarian violence and a resurgence of extremism. “We must avoid a repeat of the horrific scenarios in Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan,” she said.
Syria’s nearly 14-year civil war killed 500,000 people and forced half the country to flee their homes, millions of them finding refuge abroad.
