US diplomats in Damascus for first time in more than 10 years following fall of Assad regime

A group of U.S. officials are in Syria’s capital for the first time in more than 10 years seeking information on American citizens who disappeared under the Assad regime, among other things.

The team visiting Damascus consists of US Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs (NEA) Barbara Leaf and NEA Senior Adviser Daniel Rubinstein, a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

Rubinstein, who previously served as U.S. Special Envoy for Syria and has decades of foreign affairs experience, will lead the diplomatic engagement, the spokesperson confirmed. 

His mission is to engage with the Syrian people and key parties within the country. He also seeks to coordinate with allies to advance principles laid out in a meeting between world leaders in the Jordanian city of Aqaba earlier this month.

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The trio will meet with the Syrian people to uncover their vision for their country after the Assad regime fell earlier this month amid an ongoing civil war. They will also ask how the U.S. can help support them in their desired future.

“They will be engaging directly with the Syrian people, including members of civil society, activists, members of different communities, and other Syrian voices,” the spokesperson 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” endorsed by the United States and regional partners in Aqaba, Jordan, the State Department said.

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Secretary of State Antony Blinken previously noted that world leaders discussed “the need for an inclusive, Syrian-led political transition” during the Aqaba Meetings on Syria in Jordan on Dec. 14.

“The United States supports a future government in Syria that is chosen by and representatives of all Syrians,” Blinken said on X.

Another goal of the visit is to determine what has happened to American citizens who disappeared under the Assad regime, including former marine turned freelance journalist Austin Tice, who was kidnapped while reporting in Syria in 2012.

Carstens has been leading the charge to locate Tice and recently shared that Rewards for Justice is offering up to $10 million for information on his whereabouts.

“Given recent events in Syria, the FBI is renewing our call for information that could lead to the safe location, recovery, and return of Austin Bennett Tice, who was detained in Damascus in August 2012,” the FBI said in a statement.

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