US ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack assumes Syria envoy post
Tom Barrack, the private equity executive turned US ambassador to Turkey, announced on X on Friday that he has been appointed US special envoy for Syria.
"President [Donald] Trump has outlined his clear vision of a prosperous Middle East and a stable Syria at peace with itself and its neighbours," Barrack wrote. "As President Trump’s representative in Türkiye, I am proud to assume the role of the US Special Envoy for Syria and support Secretary [of State Marco] Rubio in the realisation of the President’s vision."
That vision was revealed in a surprise announcement in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, last week, when Trump said he would be lifting all US sanctions on Syria "to give them a chance at greatness".
Trump also met with Syria's interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, and said he was impressed by him.
"The cessation of sanctions against Syria will preserve the integrity of our primary objective - the enduring defeat of ISIS - and will give the people of Syria a chance for a better future. In this way, we, together with regional partners including Turkiye and the Gulf, are enabling the Syrian government to restore peace, security, and the hope of prosperity," Barrack said in his statement.
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According to Reuters, Barrack attended a meeting between US and Turkish officials at the State Department in Washington on Tuesday, where sanctions and counterterrorism efforts were top of the agenda.
That same day, his boss indicated that the reopening of the US embassy in Damascus is possible if Sharaa can quell security concerns stemming from armed factions not aligned with his government.
"We don't have an embassy in Syria. It's operating out of Turkey, but we need to help them," Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
He said US embassy staff in Turkey would assist the new Syrian officials in determining what type of assistance they will need to move forward in rebuilding the country.
"It's entirely driven by security concerns," Rubio said of the continued suspension of embassy operations.
"It's not the transitional authorities. We don't think they would harm us, but there are other elements on the ground in Syria."
Who is Tom Barrack?
The 78-year-old Barrack, now chosen to take on this responsibility, is of Lebanese descent. His grandparents immigrated to the US more than 100 years ago.
In addition to dealings with the Trump Organisation dating back to the late 1980s, Barrack also developed business ties with some of the wealthiest names in the Gulf and negotiated agreements with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and the Qatar Investment Authority.
In 2016, he chaired the Trump inaugural presidential committee and has long served as an adviser and confidante to the president.
A property investor, Barrack was arrested in 2021 and charged with violating foreign lobbying laws, obstructing justice and making false statements.
A seven-count indictment accused Barrack of using his access to Trump to advance the foreign policy goals of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as revealed by Middle East Eye in 2018.
The indictment said the then-74-year-old repeatedly misled federal agents about his activities during a June 2019 interview.
Barrack, whose property and investment firms do extensive business in the Middle East, was arrested following a years-long investigation into his dealings with the UAE.
In 2022, Barrack was acquitted of all counts at a federal trial.
The jury in Brooklyn, New York, found Barrack not guilty of acting as an unregistered foreign agent for the UAE, committing obstruction of justice, or making false statements. Throughout the trial, Barrack had vehemently denied the charges.
middleeasteye.net