Syria’s new regime, led by a group with former ties to al Qaeda, is on a mission to gain international legitimacy – and it’s already seeing some success. Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, an internationally sanctioned former jihadist, has been meeting foreign dignitaries since his group Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) ousted ex-President Bashar al Assad’s regime last week. He seeks to present Syria’s new regime as a friendly, inclusive and non-belligerent state. On Sunday, he secured a meeting in Damascus with Geir Otto Pedersen, the UN special envoy for Syria, who said the international community will “hopefully see a quick end to sanctions, so that we can see really a rallying around building up Syria again.” The envoy however warned that there must be “justice and accountability for crimes,” but that they must go through “a credible justice system.” And on Monday, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said she “tasked…
