Not so friendly is the United States which has been violating Syrian sovereignty since 2011 with its regime change-driven sanctions policy, backing for the terrorist overthrow of the government, and, since 2014, an illegal military occupation. The Biden administration still manages to blame the Syrian government for the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) uprising. The United States on Nov. 30 said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad lost control of Aleppo because of his reliance on Russia and Iran. Syria’s “reliance on Russia and Iran,” along with its refusal to move forward with a 2015 peace process outlined by the UN Security Council, “created the conditions now unfolding,” U.S. National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said in a White House statement. “At the same time, the United States has nothing to do with this offensive, which is led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a designated terrorist organization.”