A group of US officials are there Syria’s capital For the first time in more than 10 years, he sought, among other things, information about American citizens who had disappeared under the Assad regime.
The team visiting Damascus includes U.S. Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs (NEA) Barbara Leaf and NEA Senior Advisor Daniel Rubinstein, a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
Rubinstein, who previously served as the U.S. special envoy for Syria and has decades of experience in foreign policy, will lead the diplomatic engagement, the spokesman confirmed.
Its mission is to work with the Syrian people and the main parties in the country. He is also trying to coordinate with allies to advance principles laid out at a meeting between world leaders in the Jordanian city of Aqaba earlier this month.
Biden says we know “for certain” that American journalist Austin Tice is being held by Syria
Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs (NEA) Barbara Leaf (left), U.S. Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens (center), and NEA Senior Advisor Daniel Rubinstein (right) advocate for diplomatic engagement in Damascus, Syria State A spokesperson for the department told Fox News Digital (Alex Wong/Getty Images; Mehmet Serkan afak/Anadolu via Getty Images; Gali Tibbon-Pool/Getty Images)
The trio will meet with the Syrian people to reveal their vision for their country after the Assad regime was toppled earlier this month amid an ongoing civil war. They will also ask how the US can support them in their desired future.
“They will interact directly with the Syrian people, including members of civil society, activists, members of various communities and other Syrian voices,” the spokesman said in part.
The three officials will also meet with representatives of Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), a U.S.-designated terrorist group to “discuss transition principles” supported by the United States and regional partners in Aqaba, Jordan, the State Department said.
Abu Mohamed al-Jolani leads the US-designated terrorist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which took over Syria after the fall of the Assad regime. (OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images)
Secretary of State Antony Blinken It was previously noted that world leaders discussed “the need for an inclusive, Syrian-led political transition” during the Aqaba meetings on Syria on December 14 in Jordan.
“The United States supports a future government in Syria that will be elected by and representative of all Syrians,” Blinken said on X.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Turkey on December 13 to discuss creating greater stability in Syria amid competing rebel factions. (Getty Images)
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Another goal of the visit is to find out what happened to American citizens who disappeared under the Assad regime, including former Marine and freelance journalist Austin Tice kidnapped while reporting in Syria in 2012.
Carstens led the search for Tice and recently said Rewards for Justice is offering up to $10 million for information about his whereabouts.
The State Department’s Reward for Justice program is offering $10 million for information about Austin Tice. (The State Department of Justice Award)
“In light of recent events in Syria, the FBI renews our call for information that could lead to the safe location, recovery and return of Austin Bennett Tice, who was arrested in Damascus in August 2012,” the FBI said in a statement.
