US envoy for Syria raises flag outside Damascus residence as Washington mends ties
DAMASCUS
The U.S. flag was hoisted on May 29 outside of the long-shuttered ambassador’s residence in Damascus, in a sign of growing ties between Washington and the new Syrian government.
The U.S. ambassador to Türkiye, Tom Barrack, who has also been appointed special envoy to Syria, arrived to inaugurate the residence, Syrian state-run news agency SANA reported.
Media footage showed that Barrack raised the American flag outside the ambassador’s residence, with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani.
Washington hasn't formally reopened its embassy in Damascus, which closed in 2012 after protests against the government of then President Bashar al-Assad, met by a brutal crackdown, spiraled into civil war. Assad was unseated in December 2024 in a lightning rebel offensive.
Washington was initially circumspect about Syria’s new leaders, led by Ahmad al-Sharaa, the former leader of an Islamist insurgent group.
However, the Trump administration — encouraged by two U.S. allies in the region, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye — has in recent weeks shown increasing openness to Damascus.
Trump held a surprise meeting with al-Sharaa in Riyadh earlier this month and the U.S. has begun to roll back decades of sanctions slapped on Syria under the Assad dynasty.
“Tom understands there is great potential in working with Syria to stop Radicalism, improve Relations, and secure Peace in the Middle East. Together, we will Make America, and the World, SAFE AGAIN!” Trump said on May 28, announcing Barrack’s appointment as the envoy for Syria.
Barrack thanked Trump in an X post for “your bold vision, empowering a historically rich region, long oppressed, to reclaim its destiny through self-determination.”
