Washington D.C. – Axios, December 19, 2024
The State Department’s top diplomat for the Middle East, Barbara Leaf, will travel to Damascus in the coming days, two U.S. officials tell Axios.
Why it matters: This will be the first visit by a State Department official to Syria in many years. The visit is part if a resumption of U.S. diplomatic engagement with the transitional government in Syria after the toppling of the Assad regime.
State of play: Secretary of State Tony Blinken said last week that the U.S. has been in direct contact with Sunni Islamist opposition group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which led the offensive that toppled dictator Bashar al-Assad.
– It was the first time the U.S. had publicly confirmed any direct contact with HTS, which it designates as a terrorist organization.
– Blinken said at a news conference in Jordan that the talks with HTS were focused on discussing the fate of American journalist Austin Tice, who has been missing in Syria for 12 years.
