The United States has reopened its ambassador's residence in Damascus, which has been closed for more than 12 years, as the White House is building relations with the new Syrian government. On the eve of the solemn raising of the American flag on the territory of the diplomatic mission, which indicates the strengthening of ties between the two states. This is written by the Associated Press, reports UNN.
Details
U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, who was also appointed special envoy to Syria, arrived for the opening of the residence, the Syrian state news agency SANA reports.
He met with Acting Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and attended the signing of an agreement on a consortium of Qatari, Turkish and American companies to develop a 5,000-megawatt energy project to revive a significant portion of Syria's war-torn power grid.
The publication emphasizes that Washington has not opened its embassy in Damascus, which closed in 2012 after protests against the government of then-President Bashar Assad were suppressed by brutal repression by the authorities, and later escalated into a civil war. The Assad regime was overthrown in December as a result of a lightning attack by the rebels.
At the same time, Barrack's visit and the raising of the flag became a significant signal of warming relations.
According to the agreement, the consortium led by Qatar's UCC Concession Investments, as well as Power International USA and Turkey's Kalyon GES Enerji Yatirimlari, Cengiz Enerji, will develop four combined cycle gas turbines with a total capacity estimated at approximately 4,000 megawatts, and a 1,000 megawatt solar power plant.
A statement distributed by UCC said that "once completed, these projects are expected to provide more than 50% of the country's electricity needs."
Let us remind you
Earlier, the administration of US President Donald Trump issued orders to begin easing sanctions on Syria. This was a significant change in policy after the head of the White House earlier this month promised to lift the measures during a trip to the Middle East,