(Reuters) -Two U.S. Congress members landed in Damascus on Friday to meet Syrian officials, the first visit by American lawmakers to the war-ravaged country since Bashar al-Assad was ousted from power by an Islamist-led rebel offensive in December.
The two are U.S. Representatives Cory Mills of Florida, who serves on the House Foreign Affairs and Armed Services committees, and Marlin Stutzman of Indiana. Both are members of President Donald Trump’s Republican Party.
Mills met new Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Friday night, said a person in the delegation. They discussed U.S. sanctions and Iran during a 90-minute meeting.
The source said Stutzman was set to meet on Saturday with Sharaa, still under U.S. and UN sanctions for his previous ties to al Qaeda.
Asked about meeting a leader still sanctioned by Washington, Stutzman cited examples of Trump’s administration engaging with Iranian and North Korean leaders.
“We shouldn’t be afraid to talk to anybody,” he said, and said he was eager to see how Syria would deal with foreign fighters and rule the country’s diverse population inclusively.
Syria’s new Islamist-led leadership has pushed for the U.S. and Europe to fully lift sanctions so the country can kickstart an economy decimated by more than a decade of war.
Mills and Stutzman toured parts of the Syrian capital destroyed by the war, met with Christian religious leaders and plan to meet other Syrian government ministers.
“There’s an opportunity here – these opportunities come around once in a lifetime,” Stutzman told Reuters. “I don’t want Syria pushed into the arms of China, or back into the arms of Russia and Iran.”
Last month the U.S. gave Syria a list of conditions to fulfil in exchange for partial sanctions relief – including removing foreign fighters from leadership roles – but the Trump administration has otherwise engaged little with the new rulers.
The congressmen’s visit was organized by the Syrian American Alliance for Peace and Prosperity.
Stutzman said Syrians in Damascus spoke to him about Israel’s strikes on the country, which have targeted military sites in the south as well as around the capital. Israel has also sent ground troops into parts of southern Syria, and has lobbied the U.S. to keep Syria weak and decentralized.Â
“My hope is that a strong government is established in Syria that is supportive of the people of Syria, and the people of Syria support the government – and that the relationship between Israel and Syria can be a strong relationship. I think that’s possible, honestly I do,” he said.
(Reporting by Maya Gebeily; Editing by Howard Goller)
By Maya Gebeily
