The leader of the al-Qaeda-linked Syria rebel group that removed President Bashar al-Assad from power met with British officials to request the removal of sanctions and the terror designation on his group. 

Abu Mohammed al-Julani met with Stephen Hickey, director of the Middle East department at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and Ann Snow, the UK’s envoy to Syria in Damascus on Monday. 

According to statements given to Middle East Eye, officials from Julani’s Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) said the talks discussed the “latest developments” in Syria. The UK’s Foreign Ministry stated the British officials discussed London’s role in Damascus’ transition of power from Assad. 

Julani also gave an interview with the British outlet, The Times, to press for sanctions relief. “Countries must now lift this designation. Syria is very important geostrategically. They should lift all restrictions, which were imposed on the flogger and the victim — the flogger is gone now. This issue is not up for negotiation,” he said. 

Julani, who fought for Al-Qaeda in Iraq against American soldiers, added that HTS’s designation as a foreign terror organization is inappropriate. HTS has been labeled a terror organization by Washington and London since 2017, when Julani created the group. At the time, both governments recognized that HTS was merely a rebranding of al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate, al-Nusra. 

Following Julani’s triumph, the White House and 10 Downing Street are now considering removing HTS and Julani from the terror lists. 

In recent years, Julani has attempted to soften his image by sitting down with Western journalists for interviews, often appearing in a suit and with a trimmed beard in an attempt to obscure his jihadist ideology. 

Julani’s meetings with the British government and media come on the heels of London using the Terrorism Act 2000 to target and frame supporters of Palestinian rights as aiding Hamas. London said last week that engagement with HTS would not violate the law.