Washington advances ‘new chapter’ in Syria ties, says senior official
DAMASCUS
This handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (CR), Foreign Minister Assaad al-Shibani (R), and US special envoy for Syria Thomas Barrack (CL) attending a deal signing ceremony between Syria and a Qatari, US, and Turkish energy consortium, in Damascus on May 29, 2025
The United States is eager to initiate a new chapter in its relations with Syria, Michael Mitchell, the regional spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, has said.
"Today was truly a historic day. The U.S. special envoy for Syria is implementing President Donald Trump's commitments at an extraordinary pace," Mitchell told Syrian media, referring to the visit of Tom Barrack to Damascus on May 29.
Barrack, who is also U.S. ambassador to Türkiye, was named as Syria's U.S. special envoy on May 23.
During the visit, he raised the American flag outside the embassy residence in Damascus, which had been closed since 2012. He later met with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa.
"This is a clear signal from the White House that the U.S. administration wants to usher in a new era of partnership and bilateral cooperation with Syria," Mitchell said.
Trump has recognized that following Bashar al-Assad’s ouster in December 2024, Syria had been suffering under "counterproductive economic sanctions," which have deprived the Syrian people of necessary investments, Mitchell added.
Washington announced this month that it lifted sanctions targeting Syria.
Following the Barrack’s statement that Syria would be removed from the U.S.’ list of states sponsoring terrorism, Mitchell emphasized that this would accelerate the normalization of U.S.-Syria relations.
"There is no doubt that many steps remain before fully restoring relations between the two sides, but Syria’s repeated official declarations of its desire to live peacefully with its neighbors mark a very encouraging start and are significant for us."
When asked about the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria, Mitchell responded, "It is still too early to speak of a complete withdrawal."
In April, the Pentagon confirmed that the U.S. would reduce its troop presence in Syria by roughly half, lowering the number to fewer than 1,000 over the coming months.
