US appoints first ambassador to Syria in five years

The United States named a new ambassador to Syria on Tuesday. Diplomat Robert Ford will be the first US envoy to Syria since February 2005, when Washington recalled its envoy after a bombing blamed on Syria killed Lebanon's former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.

Photo: Reuters

"Ambassador Ford is a highly accomplished diplomat with many years of experience in the Middle East," said White House spokesperson Robert Gibbs.

"His appointment represents President [Barack] Obama's commitment to use engagement to advance US interests by improving communication with the Syrian government and people."

Obama's Republican opponents criticised the move as a "reckless engagement".

"With this nomination, our foreign policy again risks sending the message that it is better to be an intractable enemy than a co-operative, loyal US ally," said Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the top Republican on the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs committee.

"Despite the administration's outreach, Syria continues to sponsor violent extremist groups like Hezbollah and Hamas, to undermine Lebanon's sovereignty, and to pursue unconventional weapons and missile capabilities."

Despite maintaining sanctions on Syria since 2004, in recent months the US has hailed Syria as a key player in efforts to end the Arab-Israeli conflict in the Middle East.

A senior US State Department official, William Burns, is due to visit Syria on Thursday.
Burns will meet Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus as a part of a regional tour.