Qatar's Minister of State Mohammad bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi meets new Syrian leader Ahmad al-Sharaa after the ousting of Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, Dec. 23, 2024. (Credit: Reuters)
Due to its support for the Syrian opposition since 2011, Qatar now holds a favorable position in post-Assad Syria. Unlike Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the gas-rich emirate has consistently refused to normalize relations with Bashar al-Assad’s regime, while hosting an embassy of the opposition in exile on its soil since 2013. Two days after the fall of "the butcher of Damascus" on Dec. 8, 2024, Qatar had already semi-officially engaged in contact with the rebel group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). This dominant faction of opposition groups that toppled the Syrian regime is classified as terrorist by the U.N. and many countries, and its leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, has now emerged as the new authority in Damascus.Three days later, Qatari security chief Khalfan al-Kaabi accompanied the head of Turkish intelligence, Ibrahim...
Due to its support for the Syrian opposition since 2011, Qatar now holds a favorable position in post-Assad Syria. Unlike Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the gas-rich emirate has consistently refused to normalize relations with Bashar al-Assad’s regime, while hosting an embassy of the opposition in exile on its soil since 2013. Two days after the fall of "the butcher of Damascus" on Dec. 8, 2024, Qatar had already semi-officially engaged in contact with the rebel group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). This dominant faction of opposition groups that toppled the Syrian regime is classified as terrorist by the U.N. and many countries, and its leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, has now emerged as the new authority in Damascus.Three days later, Qatari security chief Khalfan al-Kaabi accompanied the head of Turkish intelligence,...