Recent advances by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham forces in Syria show that the backers of the country's President Bashar Assad, namely Russia and Iran, are distracted, US State Secretary Antony Blinken said during a NATO meeting on Wednesday.
Assad's refusal to engage in any meaningful way in a process to solve the war-torn country's years-long political crisis is also what opened the door to the recent push by rebel forces, Blinken added.