Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa met the new head of the US military’s Central Command Admiral Brad Cooper in Damascus on Friday, his office and CENTCOM said.
The United States has for years maintained a troop presence at a series of bases in Syria as part of efforts against the Islamic State jihadist group, which overran swathes of Syria and neighbouring Iraq in 2014.
“The meeting addressed prospects for cooperation in the political and military fields in the service of shared interests and consolidating the foundations of security and stability in Syria and the region,” the Syrian presidency said in a statement.
The meeting, which was joined by US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack, “reflected the positive atmosphere and shared interest in strengthening the strategic partnership and expanding channels of communication between Damascus and Washington”, it added.
A CENTCOM statement said Cooper and Barrack thanked Sharaa for “his support to counter ISIS in Syria”, using another acronym for the jihadist group.
“Eliminating the ISIS threat in Syria will reduce the risk of an ISIS attack on the US homeland while working towards President (Donald) Trump’s vision of a prosperous Middle East and a stable Syria at peace with itself and its neighbours,” CENTCOM said.
They also “offered praise to Syria for supporting the recovery of US citizens inside the country”, it added.
Several US citizens went missing or were killed during Syria’s civil war which erupted in 2011.
In April, the Pentagon announced it would roughly halve the number of troops it has in the country to fewer than 1,000 in the coming months as part of a “consolidation” of US forces.
Barrack said in June that the military would eventually close all but one of its bases in Syria.
The United States periodically targets the jihadist group’s remnants with raids or strikes to prevent its resurgence.
Cooper was appointed in early August to lead CENTCOM, the US military command responsible for the Middle East.
Earlier this month, he was in Israel on his first visit to the US ally since taking up post, the Israeli military said.
Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria since the overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December, despite opening an unprecedented dialogue with the Islamist transitional authorities.
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© Agence France-Presse
