DAMASCUS, Syria – Two U.S. lawmakers have traveled to Damascus for talks with Syrian transitional authorities, marking the first congressional visit to the war-torn country since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad in December.
Representatives Cory Mills, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Marlin Stutzman, who sits on the Financial Services and Budget Committees, met Saturday with Ahmed Al-Sharaa, head of Syria’s transitional government, and interim Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shibani at the Presidential Palace in Damascus, according to Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).
The visit, which included a tour of the heavily damaged Jobar district on the eastern outskirts of the capital, is part of a broader effort to assess the humanitarian and economic toll of U.S. sanctions on Syria, as well as to explore opportunities for reengaging through regional diplomacy.
Read also: Syria: UN Uncovers 100 Torture Sites Linked to Assad Regime
The trip comes amid shifting geopolitical dynamics in the Middle East following the collapse of Assad’s regime on December 8, after over a decade of civil war and international isolation. U.S. sanctions, first imposed in 2011 and intensified under the Caesar Act of 2019, remain a point of contention, with critics citing their role in deepening Syria’s humanitarian crisis.
The visit precedes a possible appearance by senior Syrian officials, including Foreign Minister Al-Shibani and Central Bank Governor Abdelkader Husrieh, at this week’s International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings in Washington. However, their attendance has not yet been confirmed, according to diplomatic sources cited by AFP.
