Syria will help the US in confronting Iran and Hezbollah, its once allies, US envoy Tom Barrack said on Thursday, hailing the improving US-Syrian ties as a replacement from “estrangement” to “engagement.”
Barrack, in a lengthy post on X, addressed this week’s historic visit to the White House by Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, the first trip by a president of the Middle Eastern country since its independence in 1946.
“This week marks a decisive turning point in the modern history of the Middle East - and in the remarkable transformation of Syria from isolation to partnership,” Barrack said.
The envoy, who has been tasked with the Syrian file for months now, said that the talks between Trump and al-Sharaa “reaffirmed a shared conviction: That the time has come to replace estrangement with engagement, and to give Syria -and its people- a genuine chance at renewal.”
Armed opposition forces ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad late last year. Al-Assad has been shunned by the West but had longtime strategic ties with its foes mainly Iran and the Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah group that offered him and his regime support.
“Damascus will now actively assist us in confronting and dismantling the remnants of ISIS, the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps], Hamas, Hezbollah, and other terrorist networks, and will stand as a committed partner in the global effort to secure peace,” Barrack said.
He also commended Syria’s commitment to join the D-ISIS coalition.
This, the envoy said, “stands as a historic framework marking Syria’s transition from a source of terrorism to a counterterrorism partner - a commitment to rebuild, to cooperate, and to contribute to the stability of an entire region.”
A trilateral session
Barrack said in a meeting on the sidelines of al-Sharaa’s visit to Washington, a trilateral session was held between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Syria’s top diplomat Asaad al-Shaibani.
During the meeting “we mapped the next phase of the US–Turkish–Syrian framework: Integrating the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) into the new Syrian economic, defense and civic structure, redefining Turkish-Syrian-Israeli relations, and advancing the alignment that underpins the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, as well as various Lebanese border issues,” Barrack said.
He hailed the alliance of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey in supporting the resurgence of a Syrian nation state saying this support “has been a magic elixir.”
He also called for the full repeal of the Caesar Act, urging congress to take this step to truly “‘give Syria a chance’.”
Al Arabiya
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