Syria’s interim government has agreed to assist the United States in locating and repatriating American citizens who went missing during the country’s long-running civil conflict, a US envoy announced on Sunday, marking a significant step towards the normalisation of relations between the two nations.
The announcement was made by US Special Envoy for Syria, Tom Barrack, following a meeting in Istanbul with Syria’s interim President, Ahmed al-Sharaa. The meeting comes in the wake of the United States’ decision to formally lift sanctions on Syria, ending over a decade of diplomatic isolation after the ouster of former president Bashar al-Assad in December.
Barrack described the Syrian government’s cooperation as a “powerful step forward,” and said the move was essential for providing closure to families of Americans who disappeared during the war. He specifically mentioned freelance journalist Austin Tice, detained in 2012; psychotherapist Majd Kamalmaz, believed to have died in Syrian detention in 2017; and aid worker Kayla Mueller, who was kidnapped and killed by the Islamic State group in 2015.
“The new Syrian government has agreed to assist the USA in locating and returning US citizens or their remains,” Barrack stated on social media platform X. “The families of Austin Tice, Majd Kamalmaz, and Kayla Mueller must have closure.”
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A Syrian source familiar with the negotiations told AFP that the US provided a list of 14 names, including 11 Syrian-Americans. The source also confirmed that a Qatari delegation, at the request of the United States, has been conducting searches for the remains of American hostages killed by IS fighters, particularly in Aleppo Province.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the search efforts are ongoing. The Observatory also noted that Qatar’s involvement is part of a broader international effort to locate the remains of American victims, including journalists James Foley and Stephen Sotloff, who were beheaded by IS militants in 2014.
The lifting of US sanctions coincided with internal reforms in Syria’s government, including a reshuffle in the interior ministry to tackle drug and human trafficking. Syria’s foreign ministry welcomed the move by Washington, calling it “a positive step towards easing humanitarian and economic hardship.”
The US Treasury Department clarified that the sanctions relief applies only under the condition that Syria refrains from providing safe haven to terrorist organisations and ensures the protection of religious and ethnic minorities.
