US decision to engage with Jolani
It has been stated that Barbara Leaf, the US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, will visit the Syrian capital, Damascus, in the "coming days."
AA
The news site Axios reported that Leaf will travel to Damascus in the "coming days" to hold talks.
It was stated that Leaf's visit is "part of the beginning of diplomatic engagement" by the US with the transitional government in Syria following the fall of the Assad regime.
Citing two unnamed US officials, the report did not provide information regarding the details of Leaf's contacts.
Leaf will be the first US official to visit Damascus since the Baath regime in Syria was toppled on December 8.
There has been no statement from the Washington administration regarding the Axios report yet.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had previously noted that they were following the positive statements made by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) so far and that they wanted to see concrete steps, adding that if such steps were taken, they could send US officials to Syria for direct talks.