US officials will be in Damascus on Friday to hold talks with the country's new leaders, the first group of US diplomats to formally visit Syria in more than a decade since Washington closed its embassy in Damascus in 2012.
Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf, former special envoy for Syria Daniel Rubinstein and the Biden administration's top envoy for hostilities, Roger Carstens, made the trip for talks with Syria's interim leaders, the Department of State early Friday.
“They will communicate directly with the Syrian people, including members of civil society, activists, members of different communities, and other Syrian voices about their vision for the future of their country and how that the United States can support them,” said the State. The Department said.
The group will emphasize the principles of inclusion, protection of minorities and the rejection of terrorism and chemical weapons that the Biden administration says will be critical to any US support for a new government formed after President Bashar al-Assad ouster earlier this. month. Assad fled and was granted asylum by his backer, Russia, ending his family's decades-long rule of Syria.
The US delegation's trip follows talks with France and Britain in recent days.
Golani was once wanted by the US
US President Joe Biden and his top aides described Assad's ouster as a historic opportunity for the Syrian people who have lived under his oppressive rule for decades, but they also warned that the country was in danger and uncertainty.
The rebel group that led the attack on Damascus that forced Assad to flee – Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS – has been designated a foreign terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and others. The designation occurred after Nusra Front, the predecessor of HTS, carried out suicide attacks that killed civilians and engaged in violent sectarian violence.
Rebel leader Abu Mohammed Al-Golani is set to play a major role in Syria's future. The National's Ellen Mauro breaks down how he rose through the rebel ranks and how his leadership could affect the country.
While that designation comes with several sanctions, it does not prohibit US officials from talking to their members or leaders.
HTS replaced the Assad family rule with a three-month transitional government that had been ruling a rebel stronghold in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib.
The State Department said Rubinstein, Leaf and Carstens would meet with HTS officials but did not say whether the group's leader Ahmad al-Sharaa – better known as Abu Mohammed Al-Golani – would be among those they will see.
Seven years ago the FBI offered a reward of up to $10 million US for information about the whereabouts of Golani, who is now 42.
Back in 2003, he joined insurgents fighting US troops in Iraq. The Syrian native was briefly detained by the US military but was released and eventually found his way back to Syria, founding the Nusra Front before breaking away from al-Qaeda and ISIS links. ' there before.
Raw emotions emerged as Syrians gathered in Canada in the days following the fall of Bashar al-Assad's oppressive regime to make sense of what happened and share their hopes for the future.
Golani has been interviewed by Western media outlets in recent weeks; US officials say that Golani's public statements about protecting the rights of minorities and women are welcome, but they remain skeptical that he will continue in the long term.
A diplomatic trip to Damascus will not immediately reopen the U.S. embassy, which is under the protection of the Czech government, according to U.S. officials, who said decisions on diplomatic recognition will be made when the new authorities make Syria their intentions. clear
The amount of troops more than double what was previously known
While the US suspended operations at its embassy in Damascus during the country's civil war, US troops in small parts of Syria are involved in the fight against the Islamic State militant group.
But the Pentagon revealed on Thursday that the US had doubled the number of troops in Syria to fight ISIS before Assad fell to 2,000 troops.
“These additional forces are considered temporary rotational forces deployed to meet mobile mission requirements, but the 900 core users are deployed for the long term.”
The US has also dramatically increased airstrikes against ISIS targets out of concern that a power vacuum would allow the militant group to reinvent itself.
Washington remains concerned that the terrorist group ISIS could seize the moment for a resurgence and also wants to avoid any clashes in the north-east of the country between rebel groups supported by Turkey and the Kurdish militia of the United States .
It will be a priority for the American officials to seek information on the whereabouts of the missing American journalist Austin Tice, and other American citizens who have gone missing during the Assad regime.
Time disappeared at a checkpoint in a disputed area west of Damascus as Syria's civil war intensified. A video released weeks after Tice went missing showed a vision of him being held by armed men and saying, “Oh, Jesus.”
He has not been heard from since. Assad's government publicly denied holding him.
