US envoys in Syria; first visit post Assad

The first US diplomats to visit Syria since President Bashar Assad’s ouster earlier this month are now in Damascus to hold talks with the country’s new leaders and seek information on the whereabouts of missing American journalist Austin Tice.

Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf, former special envoy for Syria Daniel Rubinstein and the Biden administration’s chief envoy for hostage negotiations, Roger Carstens, made the trip for talks with Syria’s interim leaders, the State Department said early Friday.

“They will be engaging 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 the United States can help support them,” the State Department said.

At the top of their agenda will be information about Tice, who went missing in Syria in 2012. And they will push the principles of inclusion, protection of minorities and a rejection of terrorism and chemical weapons.

The rebel group that spearheaded the assault on Damascus that forced Assad to flee — Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS — is designated a foreign terrorist organisation by the United States and others. While that designation comes with a raft of sanctions, it does not prohibit US officials from speaking to its members or leaders. The State Department said Rubinstein, Leaf and Carstens would meet with HTS officials but did not say if the group's leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, who was once aligned with al-Qaida, would be among those they see.

US officials say al-Sharaa's public statements about protecting minority and women's rights are welcomed, but they remain skeptical that he will follow through on them in the long run. The US has not had a formal diplomatic presence in Syria since 2012, when it suspended operations at its embassy in Damascus.