US diplomats have arrived in Syria for their first visit since the overthrow of Assad

Senior US diplomats from the Biden administration are in Damascus on Friday to meet with the new Syrian authorities led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a State Department spokesman said. rulers.

Diplomats will also seek information on the whereabouts of missing American journalist Austin Tice.

Assistant Secretary of State for Middle East Affairs Barbara Leaf, former special envoy for Syria Daniel Rubinstein and the Biden administration’s chief negotiator for hostages, Roger Carstens, are the first US diplomats to travel to Damascus since Syrian opposition militants ousted the tyrannical President Bashar. Assad.

The visit comes at a time when Western governments are gradually opening channels to HTS and its leader Ahmed al-Shar’a, and are debating whether to remove the group’s terrorist designation. The visit of the US delegation follows recent contacts with France and England.

The spokesperson said that US officials will discuss with HTS representatives in their meetings a number of principles, such as respect for the rights of minorities and inclusion, which Washington wants to include in the political transition of Syria.

The journalist was kidnapped in 2012

The delegation will also seek to obtain new information about Tice, who was captured during a reporting trip to Syria in August 2012, and other American citizens who went missing during the Assad regime.

“They will engage directly with the Syrian people, including members of civil society, activists, members of various communities and other Syrian voices, about their vision for the future of their country and how the United States can help support them.” the spokesman said.

“They also plan to meet with HTS representatives in Aqaba, Jordan to discuss the transition principles endorsed by the US and regional partners,” the spokesman said.

In 2012, the US severed diplomatic relations with Syria and closed its embassy in Damascus.

In a seismic moment for the Middle East, Syrian rebels seized control of Damascus on December 8, forcing Assad to flee after more than 13 years of civil war and ending his family’s decades-long rule.

The lightning attack raised questions about whether the rebels would be able to secure regular transit

The US considers the rebel leader a terrorist

Forces under the command of Ahmed Al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Muhammad Al-Golani, replaced the rule of the Assad family with a three-month-old transitional government that runs a rebel enclave in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province.

In 2013, Washington designated Al-Sharia as a terrorist, saying that Al-Qaeda in Iraq had tasked him with overthrowing Assad and establishing Islamic Sharia law in Syria. It was said that the Nusra Front, the predecessor of HTS, carried out suicide attacks that caused the death of civilians and supported violent sectarian views.

US President Joe Biden and his top aides hailed Assad’s ouster as a historic opportunity for the Syrian people, who have lived under his oppressive rule for decades, while warning that the country faces a period of risk and uncertainty.

Washington is concerned that the Daesh extremist group could use the opportunity to resurgence and also wants to avoid any clashes in the country’s northeast between Turkish-backed rebel groups and US-allied Kurdish militias.