Five informed sources reported that several senior U.S. diplomats involved in Syria were recently relieved of their positions as Washington seeks to integrate its Kurdish allies in Syria with the central administration in Damascus.
اضافة اعلان
These diplomats were part of the Regional Syria Platform – the actual U.S. mission to the country based in Istanbul – and reported to Thomas Barrack, the U.S. Special Envoy to Syria, longtime adviser and friend of President Donald Trump.
Barrack, appointed in May, has led a regional policy shift supporting a unified Syrian state under President Ahmed Al-Shar’, who assumed power following the rapid opposition advance and the ousting of Bashar al-Assad late last year.
One U.S. diplomatic source told Reuters that “some” staff at the Regional Syria Platform were informed their assignments had ended as part of a team reorganization.
The source added that the departures would not affect U.S. policy in Syria, and the decision was not due to disagreements on policy between the staff, Barrack, or the White House.
Other sources, including four Western diplomats and two U.S.-based sources, described the moves as sudden and involuntary, occurring last week. Reuters could not verify the official reason for these actions.
A U.S. State Department official said the department does not comment on “personnel decisions or administrative reorganizations,” adding that key staff working on Syria-related issues continue to operate from multiple locations.
Barrack has urged the U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to move more quickly to ratify a March agreement with President Al-Shar’ to place the areas they control under state authority and integrate the SDF into government security forces.
Less Centralized Government
A Western diplomat suggested that one reason for the U.S. diplomats’ dismissal was differences of opinion between the staff and Barrack regarding the SDF and President Al-Shar’, without providing further details.
The State Department did not comment further, and Reuters was unable to reach Barrack directly for comment. Barrack is also the U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and a NATO member.
Some SDF leaders have resisted U.S. pressure to integrate into government security forces, particularly following outbreaks of violence in several Syrian regions this year.
—( Reuters)
