gotchanewsdaily.com 
The first public confirmation of interaction with HTS came at the conclusion of Blinken’s diplomatic tour of the region sparked by the sudden downfall of Assad’s decades-long rule.
He signed off on a set of guiding principles for Syria’s transition with officials from eight Arab nations, Turkey, the European Union and the United Nations.
Under the agreement, the transition process must be Syrian-led and inclusive; the rights of all Syrians, including women, respected; humanitarian aid unrestricted; Syria banned from being used as a terrorist base; and all chemical weapons stockpiles destroyed.
“Now, no one has any illusions about how challenging this time will be, but there’s also something incredibly powerful at work: a Syrian people determined to break with the past and shape a better future,” Blinken said.
The U.S. official also emphasized that helping find Austin Tice — an American freelance journalist who is thought to have been taken captive close to Damascus in August 2012 while he was covering the country’s civil war — and bringing him home will be a top priority.
France, meanwhile, plans to send a team of diplomats to Syria on Tuesday to assess the political and security situation, Reuters reported on Sunday. “A team of French diplomats will travel to Syria this Tuesday to mark France’s willingness to support the Syrian people,” the foreign ministry in Paris said, according to the report.
Most EU governments have welcomed Assad’s fall but are considering whether they can work with the rebels who ousted him.
