In Damascus meeting, US drops reward for arrest of Syria's new leader

A senior US diplomat told Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa on Friday that Washington was scrapping a reward for his arrest, and welcomed "positive messages" from their talks including a promise to fight terrorism.

Barbara Leaf, Washington's top diplomat for the Middle East, made the comments after her meeting with Sharaa in Damascus -- the first formal mission to Syria's capital by United States diplomats since the early days of Syria's civil war.

The lightning offensive that toppled president Bashar al-Assad on December 8 was led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is rooted in Al-Qaeda's Syria branch but has sought to moderate its image in recent years.

Leaf's meeting with HTS chief Sharaa came despite Washington's six-year-old designation of his group as a terrorist organisation.

"Based on our discussion, I told him we would not be pursuing the Rewards for Justice reward offer," Leaf told reporters.

After their talks, "it's a little incoherent, then, to have a bounty on the guy's head," she said, welcoming the messages from him.

"We will be looking for progress on these principles and actions, not just words," she said.

"We fully support a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process that results in an inclusive and representative government which respects the rights of all Syrians, including women, and Syria's diverse ethnic and religious communities."

The United States agreed on those principles with top Arab and European diplomats as well as Turkey during a meeting on December 14 in Aqaba, Jordan.

A Syrian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, earlier confirmed to AFP that the US delegation had met with Sharaa.

"The meeting took place, and it was positive. And the results will be positive, God willing," the official said.

Leaf said she told Sharaa of the "critical need to ensure terrorist groups cannot pose a threat inside of Syria or externally, including to the US and our partners in the region."

"Ahmed al-Sharaa committed to this," she said.

The US delegation also included Roger Carstens, the US pointman on hostages. He said he worked on Friday with the new Syrian leadership to search a location where American journalist Austin Tice could have been held, and "we'll be working with the interim authorities" to examine other locations.

Tice was kidnapped in Syria in August 2012.

- US strikes IS -

On a regional tour prior to the Aqaba talks, Secretary of State Antony Blinken had stressed the need to prevent a resurgence of Islamic State group (IS) jihadists.

The US military said on Friday its forces had killed an IS leader and another operative in Deir Ezzor province, part of escalated US military action against the group since Assad's overthrow.

The US embassy said Leaf also met with Syria's White Helmet rescuers, civil society leaders, activists and others "to hear directly from them about their vision for the future of their country".

Below a photograph of Leaf and others with a memorial wreath, the embassy said she had also commemorated the tens of thousands of people murdered, tortured, disappeared or detained under Assad.

"The US commitment to hold accountable those responsible for these atrocities is unwavering," the embassy said on X.

- Turkish pressure -

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who backed Assad's opponents, has stressed reconciliation and restoration of Syria's territorial integrity and unity.

Turkey has been putting pressure on Kurdish-led forces in Syria, and Erdogan said Friday it was time to destroy "terrorist" groups operating in the country, specifically IS and Kurdish fighters.

"Daesh, the PKK and their affiliates -- which threaten the survival of Syria -- must be eradicated," he told journalists following a summit in Cairo, referring to IS and the Kurdistan Workers Party, respectively.

The autonomous administration in northeastern Syria is protected by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, mostly made up of the People's Protection Units (YPG).

Turkey accuses the YPG of being a branch of the PKK, which both Washington and Ankara consider a terrorist group.

Kurdish leaders in Syria have welcomed Assad's ouster and raised the three-star independence-era rebel flag, but many in the region fear continued attacks by Turkey and allied fighters.

Leaf said Washington was urging a ceasefire between Turkish-backed forces and the SDF around the Kurdish-held Syrian border town of Kobane, also known as Ain al-Arab.

On a visit to Ankara on Friday, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock warned of the dangers of any "escalation" of the fighting, saying: "Security, especially for Kurds, is essential for a free and secure future for Syria."

Iran and Russia had long helped to prop up Assad, but on Friday Leaf said she expected Syria would completely end any role for Iran.

Amy Pope, the head of the UN migration agency, on Friday urged "the caretaker government to continue to empower and enable women, because they are going to be absolutely critical to the rebuilding of the country".

Pope also called for the raft of international sanctions on Syria to be reassessed to help the country regain its footing.

Syria's civil war killed more than 500,000 people and sparked an exodus of millions of refugees.

On Friday, almost two weeks after Assad's fall and flight to Moscow, Syrians continued to celebrate. Fireworks exploded over Umayyad Square in Damascus, where flag-waving crowds gathered.

burs-it/kir