Top US diplomats from the Biden administration are in Damascus on Friday to meet with the new Syrian government led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a State Department spokesman said, the first personal and official meeting between Washington and Syria’s new de facto rulers.

Diplomats will also seek information on the whereabouts of missing American journalist Austin Tice.

Assistant Secretary of State for Middle Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf, former Special Envoy for Syria Daniel Rubinstein and the Biden administration’s top envoy for hostage negotiations, Roger Carstens, are the first US diplomats to travel to Damascus since Syrian opposition militias ousted oppressive President Bashar al . Assad.

The visit comes as Western governments gradually open channels to HTS and its leader Ahmed al-Sharao, and begin a debate over whether or not to remove the group’s terrorist designation. The trip of the American delegation followed contacts with France and Britain in recent days.

In their meetings, US officials will discuss with HTS representatives a series of principles such as inclusiveness and respect for minority rights that Washington wants to include in Syria’s political transition, the spokesman said.

Journalist kidnapped in 2012

The delegation will also work to obtain new information about Tice, who was captured during a reporting trip to Syria in August 2012, and other American citizens who disappeared during the Assad regime.

“They will speak directly with the Syrian people, including members of civil society, activists, members of various communities and other Syrian voices about their vision for the future of their country and how the United States can help support them,” a department spokesman said.

“They also plan to meet with HTS representatives to discuss the principles of transition accepted by the United States and regional partners in Aqaba, Jordan,” the spokesman said.

The United States severed diplomatic ties with Syria and closed its embassy in Damascus in 2012.

In a seismic moment for the Middle East, Syrian rebels took control of Damascus on December 8, forcing Assad to flee after more than 13 years of civil war, ending his family’s decades-long rule.

The lightning offensive raised questions about whether the rebels would be able to secure an orderly transit

The US considers the rebel leader a terrorist

Forces under the command of Ahmed Al-Sharaa — better known as Abu Mohammed Al-Golani — replaced the rule of the Assad family with a three-month transitional government ruling the rebel enclave in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province.

In 2013, Washington designated Al-Sharaa as a terrorist, saying al-Qaida in Iraq tasked him with overthrowing Assad’s rule and establishing Islamic Sharia law in Syria. Nusra Front, the predecessor of HTS, is said to have carried out suicide attacks that killed civilians and espoused a violent sectarian vision.

US President Joe Biden and his top aides described Assad’s ouster as a historic opportunity for the Syrian people who have lived under his oppressive rule for decades, but also warned that the country faces a period of risk and uncertainty.

Washington remains concerned that the extremist group ISIS could seize the moment for a resurgence and also wants to avoid any clashes in the country’s northeast between Turkish-backed rebel factions and US-allied Kurdish militias.