A news conference scheduled to be held by US diplomats in Syria following a meeting with the country's new leaders has been canceled due to “security concerns”, the US embassy said.
A U.S. official would not confirm what those concerns were or whether diplomats had met with the country's new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa. They said an informational meeting would take place virtually later Friday.
Shortly after, the US military said it had killed an Islamic State (IS) leader in an airstrike in Syria.
The American delegation arrived in the capital, Damascus, to meet representatives of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which overthrew the regime of Bashar al-Assad less than a fortnight ago but which Washington still designates as a terrorist group .
This is the first official U.S. diplomatic visit to Damascus in more than a decade.
It is a further sign of the spectacular changes underway in Syria since the overthrow of Assad, and of the speed of the efforts deployed by the United States and Europe, also relying on Arab countries, to try to influence its emerging governance.
This visit follows those made in recent days by delegations from the UN and other countries, including the United Kingdom, France and Germany.
The delegation of senior officials includes Deputy Secretary of State Barbara Leaf, Roger Carstens, US President Joe Biden's hostage envoy, and Daniel Rubinstein, senior adviser at the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs.
“They will engage directly with the Syrian people, including members of civil society, activists, members of different communities and other Syrian voices, on their vision for the future of their country and how which the United States can support,” a state statement said. » said the ministry spokesperson in a previous statement.
The meeting is a demonstration of their willingness to deal with HTS, which the United States still considers a terrorist organization but is pushing to transition to an inclusive, non-sectarian government.
Washington effectively sets a set of conditions before considering delisting the group – a crucial step that could ease the path to sanctions relief that Damascus desperately needs.
Authorities are seeking additional information to find American journalist Austin Tice, kidnapped in Damascus in 2012.
Meanwhile, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed that IS leader Abu Yusif and two of his members were killed in an airstrike in the northeastern province of Dayr az Zawr. Syria.
It said in a statement Friday that the airstrike was launched Thursday and carried out in an area formerly controlled by the Assad regime and Russian forces supporting his government.
CENTCOM Commander Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla said the United States would not allow ISIS “to take advantage of the current situation in Syria and reconstitute itself,” adding that the group intended to liberate more than 8,000 IS militants detained in Syria.
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