MOSCOW, May 31. /TASS/. The British MI6 intelligence agency’s representative Jonathan Powell suggested that leader of the Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist group (outlawed in Russia) Abu Mohammad al-Julani should build close cooperation with the West, a diplomatic source in Moscow told TASS on Monday.
"The British side suggested that the Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham group (outlawed in Russia, also known as Jabhat al-Nusra) should announce plans to abandon subversive activities against Western countries and build close cooperation with them," he said. "Mohammad al-Julani received recommendations to give an interview to an American reporter in order to create a positive image for the alliance that he heads and rehabilitate it in the future. There are plans to engage some of the UK’s allies, primarily the US, in efforts aimed at rebranding the al-Nusra group," the source added.
According to him, Western intelligence agencies are seeking to directly establish contact with international terrorist groups active in Syria. The meeting between Powell and al-Julani took place in the Idlib de-escalation zone near the Bab al-Hawa Border Crossing on the Syrian-Turkish border, the source said. According to him, the meeting was focused on the possibility of removing Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham from the list of terrorist organizations. In addition, an agreement was reached on maintaining a permanent communication link with international terrorists designated as such by the United Nations Security Council.
"We would like to remind those who quickly forget their own bitter experience that there are no good terrorists and all attempts to tame and hand-feed them usually lead to many innocent deaths," the source emphasized.