UK Restores Formal Diplomatic Ties With Syria After Grooming Sharaa For Power

Britain has reestablished full diplomatic relations with Syria, with UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy visiting Damascus to meet with the country's new de facto leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa. Lammy stated that the UK has an interest in Syria's recovery after 14 years of war, citing the importance of stability to prevent terrorism. He also emphasized the need to address illegal immigration and support progress in the country. However, Britain played a significant role in sparking the war in Syria in 2011, which killed hundreds of thousands and brought the current government to power. Al-Sharaa has a controversial past, having fought for the Islamic State of Iraq and later establishing the Nusra Front in Syria. UK intelligence facilitated the travel of British extremists to Syria to fight against the government, and a UK-funded NGO worked closely with al-Sharaa to rebrand his terrorist image. The rise of al-Sharaa was engineered through a long-term Western-backed strategy, with Britain playing a disproportionately influential role. Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad, Syria has moved towards becoming an extremist Islamic state based on the ideology of Ibn Taymiyyah. In recent months, extremist Islamist gunmen have massacred Alawite civilians, raising concerns about the country's future.