Photo: Collected

DAMASCUS, May  25, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Syria's new authorities have agreed to
help the United States locate and return Americans who went missing in the
war-ravaged country, a US envoy said on Sunday, in another sign of thawing
bilateral ties.

The announcement came a day after the United States formally lifted
sanctions on Syria, ending more than a decade of diplomatic freeze.

 Relations have steadily improved since former president Bashar al-Assad was
overthrown by an Islamist-led offensive in December.

 "The new Syrian government has agreed to assist the USA in locating and
returning USA citizens or their remains," US special envoy for Syria Tom
Barrack wrote on X, describing it as a "powerful step forward".

  "The families of Austin Tice, Majd Kamalmaz, and Kayla Mueller must have
closure," he added, referring to American citizens who had gone missing or been
killed during Syria's devastating civil war that erupted in 2011.

Tice was working as a freelance journalist for Agence France-Presse, The
Washington Post, and other outlets when he was detained at a checkpoint in
August 2012.

 Kamalmaz, a Syrian-American psychotherapist, was believed to have died
after being detained under the Assad government in 2017.

  Mueller was an aid worker kidnapped by the Islamic State group, which
announced her death in February 2015, saying she was killed in a Jordanian air
strike, a claim disputed by US authorities.

"President (Donald) Trump has made it clear that bringing home USA citizens
or honoring, with dignity, their remains is a major priority everywhere," said
Barrack, who also serves as the US ambassador to Turkey.

 "The new Syrian Government will aid us in this commitment," he added.
       
       - Americans killed by IS -
       
 A Syrian source aware of the talks between the two countries told AFP there
were 11 other names on Washington's list, all of them Syrian-Americans.

 The source added that a Qatari delegation began this month, at Washington's
request, a search mission for the remains of American hostages killed by IS.

 Britain-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights meanwhile
said that "the Qatari delegation is still searching in Aleppo province for the
bodies of American citizens executed by IS".

 Two US journalists, James Foley and Stephen Sotloff, were videotaped in
2014 being beheaded by a militant who spoke on camera with a British accent.

  El Shafee Elsheikh, a jihadist from London, was found guilty in 2022 of
hostage-taking and conspiracy to murder US citizens -- Foley and Sotloff, as
well as aid workers Peter Kassig and Kayla Mueller.

 The formal lifting of US sanctions also coincided with Syria's new
authorities reshuffling their interior ministry to include fighting
cross-border drug and people smuggling, as they seek to improve ties with the
West.
      
 The lifting of sanctions paves the way for reconstruction efforts in the
war-torn country, where authorities are relying on foreign assistance to help
foot the enormous cost of rebuilding.

 The sanctions relief is on condition that Syria does not provide a safe
haven for terrorist organisations and ensures security for religious and ethnic
minorities, the US Treasury Department said.

 Trump shook hands with Syria's jihadist-turned-interim President Ahmed
al-Sharaa earlier this month during a visit to Saudi Arabia.
       - Sharaa in Turkey -
    
       
 Barrack's statement comes a day after he met Syrian interim president,
Ahmed al-Sharaa, in Istanbul, during Sharaa's third visit to Turkey since the
fall of Assad.

 The Syrian presidency said on Sunday that Sharaa and his accompanying
delegation met with Turkish officials in Ankara, including Vice President
Cevdet Yilmaz and financial officials.

 Yilmaz said in a statement that they discussed "deepening our economic
cooperation in the new period", adding that his country will "continue to
provide all kinds of support to the Syrian people in their peace, development
and reconstruction process".

 As part of Syria's efforts to strengthen its institutions, the interior
ministry appointed new security chiefs in 12 provinces on Sunday.

 It did not say how the chiefs were chosen nor did it share much information
about them, but the list includes former security officials in Hayat Tahrir
al-Sham, the Sharaa-led Islamist group that spearheaded the December offensive.

 The new authorities faced criticism when military appointments in December
included six foreign fighters.

 After meeting Sharaa in Riyadh this month, US President Donald Trump
demanded that "foreign terrorists" leave Syria.

  Damascus had previously told Washington in a letter that it would "freeze
the promotions of foreign fighters" and form a committee to review previous
promotions, according to a Syrian source with knowledge of the letter.

 The source requested anonymity as they were not allowed to brief the media
on the topic.