The newly-appointed U.S. envoy to Syria, Thomas Barrack, expressed optimism about achieving peace between Syria and Israel during his first trip to Damascus on Thursday. He praised the Islamist-led government and indicated its readiness for dialogue.
Barrack raised the American flag over the U.S. ambassador’s residence for the first time since the embassy’s closure in 2012, signaling a rapid improvement in U.S. relations with Damascus following President Donald Trump’s unexpected decision to lift sanctions and meet with Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa.
“Syria and Israel is a solvable problem. But it starts with a dialogue,” Barrack told journalists in Damascus. “I’d say we need to start with just a non-aggression agreement, talk about boundaries and borders,” he said.
Barrack also suggested that Syria would no longer be designated a state sponsor of terrorism by the United States, stating that the issue was “gone with the Assad regime being finished,” but noted that Congress had a six-month review period.
“America’s intent and the president’s vision is that we have to give this young government a chance by not interfering, not demanding, by not giving conditions, by not imposing our culture on your culture,” Barrack said.
Interim President Sharaa, a former al Qaeda commander, is rapidly reshaping a country that had strained relations with the West and close ties to Iran and Russia during the Assad family’s long rule.
Syria has historically been a frontline state in the Arab-Israeli conflict, with Israel occupying the Syrian Golan Heights since 1967. Israel seized additional Syrian territory in the border zone after Bashar al-Assad’s ouster in December, citing concerns about the jihadist background of Syria’s new leaders.
Reuters reported earlier this week that Israeli and Syrian officials have been in direct contact, holding face-to-face meetings to de-escalate tensions and prevent conflict in the border region.
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Trump reportedly urged Sharaa to normalize relations with Israel during their meeting in Riyadh earlier this month.
Barrack, who also serves as U.S. ambassador to Turkey, was appointed as the U.S. envoy to Syria on May 23.
He noted that Syria has been under U.S. sanctions since 1979, with some of the most stringent measures implemented in 2020 under the Caesar Act, which Barrack said must be repealed by Congress within 180 days.
“I promise you the one person who has less patience with these sanctions than all of you is President Trump,” he said.
The U.S. closed its embassy in Damascus in February 2012, nearly a year after protests against Assad escalated into a violent conflict that ravaged Syria for over a decade.
Then-ambassador Robert Ford was withdrawn from Syria shortly before the embassy’s closure. Subsequent U.S. envoys for Syria operated from abroad and did not visit Damascus.
During Syria’s 14-year war, hundreds of thousands were killed, millions were displaced, and the West increased pressure on Assad through sanctions and severed ties. However, Assad maintained power with support from Iran and Russia.
Sharaa led al Qaeda’s official affiliate in Syria for several years before severing ties with the global jihadist network in 2016.