The primary US diplomats to go to Syria because the fall of Bashar al Assad’s regime are actually in Damascus to carry talks with the nation’s new leaders.

The whereabouts of American journalist Austin Tice, who went lacking in Syria in 2012, are understood to be on the high of the delegation’s agenda.

The go to is going down practically two weeks after the Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS) insurgent group ended the Assad dynasty’s greater than 50 years of rule in a lightning offensive.

A spokesperson from the US State Division has stated the American officers will meet with members of HTS, however didn’t verify whether or not they’ll maintain talks with the group’s chief Ahmad al Sharaa.

“(The delegation) shall be participating straight with the Syrian individuals, together with members of civil society, activists, members of various communities, and different Syrian voices about their imaginative and prescient for the way forward for their nation and the way the US can assist help them,” the US State Division stated.

It comes days after British diplomats held talks with al Sharaa, who was as soon as aligned with al Qaeda, in Syria.

HTS is designated a overseas terrorist organisation by the US, the UK, the UN and the EU.

Whereas that designation comes with a raft of sanctions, it doesn’t prohibit American or British officers from talking to its members or leaders.

The US delegation is being led by Barbara Leaf, the senior State Division official for the Center East, and is predicted to push for inclusion and the safety of minorities within the nation.

It can additionally encourage Syria’s leaders to reject terrorism – one thing the Biden administration says shall be important for any US help for a brand new authorities.

Al Sharaa was previously identified by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al Jolani. He has sought to reassure the West since seizing energy, together with in feedback made to Sky Information.

American officers say his public statements about defending minority and girls’s rights are welcome, however they continue to be sceptical that he’ll comply with by way of on them in the long term.

The journey can also be going down greater than a decade after the US shuttered its embassy within the capital Damascus in 2012 throughout Syria’s civil battle.

The go to is not going to end result within the quick reopening of the embassy, which is beneath the safety of the Czech authorities, based on American officers.

They added that diplomatic recognition shall be made when the brand new Syrian authorities make their intentions clear.

Regardless of not having a diplomatic presence in Syria, US troops have been in small components of the nation throughout that point to battle Islamic State (IS).

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Journalist nonetheless lacking after regime fall

The US has elevated its efforts to seek out lacking journalist Austin Tice and return him house because the rebels took over Syria earlier this month.

Roger Carstens, the Biden administration’s chief envoy for hostage negotiations, is amongst these in Damascus in the present day.

He has beforehand travelled to Lebanon to hunt details about the journalist, who disappeared at a checkpoint in a contested space west of Damascus in the course of the Syrian civil battle.

A video launched weeks after Mr Tice went lacking exhibits him blindfolded and held by armed males and saying “Oh, Jesus”.

He has not been heard from since.

Assad’s authorities had publicly denied that it was holding him.