A source in the Syrian Presidency denied the statement made by the former US Ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford, regarding having met with the Syrian President during the transitional phase, Ahmed al-Sharaa, previously as part of preparing al-Sharaa for the leadership phase in Syria.

The Qatari channel “Al Jazeera” reported Tuesday, May 20, that the source said there is no truth to the information provided by Ambassador Robert Ford concerning meetings with President al-Sharaa in Idlib.

The source added that the meetings mentioned by Ford were part of discussions with hundreds of delegations and were focused on presenting the experience of Idlib during the opposition’s control of the region.

The source noted that one of the delegations was affiliated with a British studies organization, and included Ambassador Robert Ford among its members.

He stated that the sessions that brought Ford and President al-Sharaa together were limited to general questions regarding the experience and did not include what Ford claimed in his statements.

The Syrian Presidency has not responded to inquiries from Enab Baladi regarding the issue up to the time this news was released.

Ambassador Robert Ford revealed new details he said pertained to the behind-the-scenes ascent of the new Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to power, indicating that a British non-governmental organization had contributed to preparing him to enter politics after years of involvement in groups listed as terrorist organizations.

Ford explained in a session before the Baltimore Council on Foreign Affairs earlier this month that a British organization specializing in conflict resolution invited him to participate in an initiative aimed at “bringing al-Sharaa, known as (al-Jolani) at the time, out of terrorism and into politics,” as he put it.

He mentioned that al-Sharaa was “hesitant at first,” adding, “I imagined myself in an orange jumpsuit with a knife to my neck, but after I spoke with people who had previously met him, I decided to seize the opportunity.”

He noted that he met with al-Sharaa three times, twice in 2023 and a third time after he took power in Damascus in January 2024, following the fall of the Syrian regime.

President Ahmed al-Sharaa appeared relying on his real name, leaving behind the title “Abu Mohammad al-Jolani,” which he had been associated with while leading jihadist factions over the years, and headed towards Damascus at the very moments of the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime on December 8, 2024.

Since then, al-Sharaa has sought to rebuild relations with the West, primarily the United States, which he ultimately succeeded in achieving through Saudi-Turkish-Qatari mediation.