Several senior U.S. diplomats working on Syria have been “abruptly” removed from their posts in recent days, Reuters reported Thursday, citing “five different sources.”
The diplomats were stationed at the Syria Regional Platform (SRP), the de facto U.S. mission to Syria operating from Istanbul, and all reported to U.S. Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack, a longtime adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump.
According to Reuters, a U.S. diplomatic source said “a handful” of SRP staff were told their tours were ending as part of a reorganization. The source stressed the move would not alter U.S. policy in Syria and “was not the result of disagreements” with Barrack or the White House.
A Western diplomat told Reuters the dismissal of the U.S. diplomats was partly due to “a divergence” in views between the staff and Tom Barrack over the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and President al-Sharaa, but offered no further details.
Reuters reporting said the departures were “sudden” and “involuntary”, taking place late last week. The State Department declined to comment when asked by Reuters on personnel decisions, saying only that “core staff working on issues pertaining to Syria continue to operate from multiple locations.” SANA has reached out to the State Department for a comment.
Since his appointment in May, Barrack has pushed for a policy shift supporting a unified Syrian state. He has urged the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to finalize a March agreement with Damascus that would return the northeast areas to the Syrian state authority and integrate the SDF into national security forces.
Since Washington closed its embassy in Damascus in 2012, the SRP has functioned as the de facto U.S. mission to Syria, headquartered at the U.S. consulate in Istanbul with offices across the region.
