By Rabia Iclal Turan
WASHINGTON (AA) - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that he sees an "opportunity" for Syria to move from disasters and toward becoming a "unified" nation through an "inclusive" political transition that brings everyone together.
"I very much hope there is an opportunity to move Syria away from the disaster of recent decades toward a country that is unified, that reflects all the different communities that make up Syria, and so that we get a political transition that's inclusive and brings everyone together," he told a House of Representatives committe.
"We have an interest in seeing that, because if Syria goes the other way, if it fragments, then we're likely to see more mass migrations. We're likely to see more places in Syria that become centers for terrorism and extremism, none of which is in our interest," he added.
His remarks before the House Foreign Affairs Committee primarily addressed the US withdrawal from Afghanistan but it also discussed the administration's priorities in Syria and the Gaza Strip.
He said the aim is to protect US troops in Syria and to make sure that the Daesh/ISIS terror group does not "reconstitute."
"Through the Obama administration and the Trump administration, we were successful in eliminating the territorial caliphate that ISIS had developed in Syria. We don't want to see that revived," he said.
He noted the importance of the security of detention facilities used to hold Daesh/ISIS detainees in Syria.
When asked about President-elect Donald Trump's statement that the US should not get involved in Syria, Blinken noted the "success" of eliminating the threat of ISIS/Daesh in Syria.
"That was a job very well done over two administrations, and I believe that the incoming administration will have an interest in preserving the gains that it helped achieve," he said.
Blinken said a number of factors played a role in the fall of the Assad regime and the resurgence of Syrian rebels, including the distraction of "outside patrons of the regime," such as Hezbollah, Iran and Russia.
Assad's refusal to engage in any kind of political process to try to bring the country together was also one of the reasons behind the fall of his regime, according to Blinken.
Asked if he is confident the leader of the Syrian group HTS, Abu Mohammed al-Golani, will able to protect Christians and women, Blinken said he is "not confident" but "encouraged" by his words.
"I'm encouraged by the fact that they've said the right thing, but what we have to focus on is whether they do the right thing, including protecting minorities," he said.
Blinken's testimony came hours before his flight to the region, where he will visit Jordan and Türkiye to discuss regional issues, including developments in Syria.