U.S. delegation arrives in Syrian capital for first meetings since Assad's fall
Senior U.S. officials arrived in Damascus on Friday for the first diplomatic mission to the Syrian capital since the fall of dictator Bashar al-Assad this month.
WASHINGTON — Senior U.S. officials arrived in Damascus on Friday for the first diplomatic mission to the Syrian capital since the fall of dictator Bashar al-Assad this month.
The U.S. delegation, led by Barbara Leaf, the senior State Department official for the Middle East, is expected to meet with members of the Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) rebel group, according to a State Department spokesperson. The group is acting as the de facto government in Syria.
Those discussions are expected to focus on expectations for a transition to an inclusive Syrian government and the “hope to uncover information about the fate of Austin Tice, Majd Kamalmaz, and other American citizens who disappeared under the Assad regime,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
Roger Carstens, the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, who traveled to Damascus in 2020 for secret negotiations about Tice during the first Trump administration, is also a part of the delegation.
In addition to HTS, the diplomats will meet with members of civil society, activists, members of different communities and other Syrians “about their vision for the future of their country and how the United States can help support them,” the spokesperson said.
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