The US Special Envoy for Syria, Thomas Barrack, arrived in Damascus on Thursday, according to Syria’s official news agency SANA, marking a new stage in the normalization of relations between the two countries following the fall of Bashar al-Assad. He is currently meeting Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Shareh.
Barrack, who also serves as the US Ambassador to Turkey, inaugurated the American ambassador’s residence in the Syrian capital alongside Syrian Foreign Minister Assaad al-Chaibani, SANA reported. AFP photographers witnessed the US flag raised inside the ambassador’s residence, located just a few hundred meters from the US Embassy in the Abou Roummaneh district, under tight security measures.
In an interview with Al Hadath TV, Barrack outlined the Trump administration’s new approach to Syria. He stated that President Trump is considering lifting certain administrative sanctions and facilitating trade in order to ease the impact of economic restrictions on the country.
Barrack also asserted that disputes between Syria and Israel could be resolved through dialogue, emphasizing that Washington fully supports peace negotiations between the two countries.
"President Trump is considering removing Syria from the list of state sponsors of terrorism and is determined to eliminate ISIS from the region once and for all," Barrack revealed.
Finally, he stressed that the U.S. administration intends to strengthen the current Syrian government, a move that signals a major shift in Washington's policy toward Damascus.
The US Embassy in Syria was closed after Assad’s violent crackdown on a peaceful uprising in 2011, which spiraled into a civil war.
The US envoy, appointed by President Donald Trump, had previously met with Syria’s interim President Ahmad al-Shareh on May 24 in Istanbul, following the lifting of US sanctions on Damascus.
That meeting came shortly after a summit in Riyadh between Trump and al-Shareh, who had overthrown Assad in December at the head of an Islamist coalition.
“Tom understands there is great potential in working with Syria to stop radicalism, improve relations, and ensure peace in the Middle East,” President Trump said in a statement posted Thursday on the State Department’s official X account.
The last American ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford, was declared persona non grata after he visited the city of Hama in 2011, then besieged by the Syrian army and the site of a massive anti-regime protest.
Since Assad’s fall, relations between the new Syrian leadership and the United States have gradually improved. In late December, a US delegation led by Barbara Leaf, the State Department’s top Middle East official, visited Damascus for initial talks with Syria’s new leaders.
With AFP
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