US officials on first diplomatic trip to Syria since al-Assad’s removal
Al Jazeera
Team to hold talks with country’s new leaders, including HTS that Washington hadesignated as a terrorist organisation.
The first United States diplomats to visit Syria since President Bashar Assad was removed earlier this month are holding talks in Damascus with the country’s new leaders, including the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group that Washington had designated as a terrorist organisation.
Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf, former Special Envoy for Syria Daniel Rubinstein and the government’s chief envoy for hostage affairs, Roger Carstens, were in Damascus on Friday, the State Department said.
“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,” it said in a statement.
At the top of their agenda will be the interim government’s “vision for the future of their country and how the United States can help support them”.
Western states have been mulling over whether to lift HTS’s terrorist designation, which comes with a group of sanctions. It, however, does not prohibit US officials from speaking to its members or leaders.
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