U.S. Diplomats Visit Damascus for First Time in Over a Decade After Assad's Fall
On December 20, 2024, three senior U.S. Department of State officials arrived in Damascus, Syria — the first formal visit to Syria by American diplomats in more than a decade. The delegation was led by Senior Adviser Daniel Rubinstein and included Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf and Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens. The United States suspended operations at its embassy in Damascus in 2012 during Syria's civil war and has had no formal diplomatic presence in the country since.
The State Department said the delegation would engage directly with the Syrian people, including members of civil society, activists, and members of different communities, about their vision for the future of their country and how the United States can help support them. The officials would also meet representatives of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) to discuss transition principles endorsed by the United States and regional partners at the Aqaba meetings in Jordan on December 14. HTS, the armed group that led the overthrow of the Assad regime, remains a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.
A further goal of the visit was to determine what happened to American citizens who disappeared under the Assad regime, above all Austin Tice, the American journalist who went missing while reporting in Syria in 2012. After meeting Syria's new leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, Leaf told reporters that, based on the discussion with HTS, the United States would no longer pursue the $10 million Rewards for Justice bounty on al-Sharaa. The State Department said the visit would not immediately reopen the U.S. embassy, and that decisions on diplomatic recognition would depend on the new Syrian authorities' actions.
Related: Assad Regime Falls in Syria as Rebels Enter Damascus and Assad Flees
(Source: U.S. Department of State)
Source: U.S. Department of State
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：叙利亚首都大马士革的倭马亚清真寺庭院与宣礼塔实景。Argenberg 摄，CC BY 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The courtyard and the Minaret of Jesus at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, Syria. By Argenberg, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
- 2024-12-08Assad Regime Falls in Syria as Rebels Enter Damascus and Assad Flees
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