A State Department spokesman confirmed the diplomats discussed US-backed “transition principles,” regional and regional developments and the need to fight ISIS.
The spokesman confirmed that officials are also seeking additional information about American citizens who have disappeared under the Assad regime, including journalists. Austin Tice who was kidnapped in Damascus in 2012 and a psychotherapist Then Kamalmaz which disappeared in 2017.
The visit was the first official American diplomatic appearance in Damascus in more than a decade.
It’s another sign of the dramatic shifts taking place in Syria since Assad’s ouster, and the speed of efforts by the US and Europe, which are also leaning on Arab countries to try to influence its new rule.
This visit followed the visit of delegations from the UN and other countries, including Great Britain, France and Germany.
The delegation of high-ranking officials includes Assistant Secretary of State Barbara Leaf, Roger Carstens, who is US President Joe Biden’s hostage envoy, and Daniel Rubinstein, a senior adviser to the Bureau of Near East Affairs.
