The EU wants to "soon" establish new diplomatic contacts with Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, the leader of the Islamist movement Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), says a high-ranking EU official on Friday.
"What we are now considering is to establish contacts and to convey messages about our expectations", says the official and adds that the contact would take place at working level.
At the same time, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken promises that the US will cooperate with Iraq to ensure that the terrorist group IS does not re-emerge after Bashar al-Assad is overthrown in neighboring Iraq.
We are firmly determined to ensure that IS cannot re-emerge, says Blinken.
On a regional tour regarding the Syrian crisis, Blinken has also been in Turkey, before landing in Baghdad where he meets Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.
No one knows better than Iraq how important it is with stability in Syria and to avoid the jihadists in IS returning, he says on the spot in Baghdad.
