Washington, USA (CNN)– An informed source and a senior official in the administration of US President Joe Biden revealed, in statements to CNN, that the US administration has made direct contacts with the Syrian government in an attempt to secure the release of American citizen Austin Tice.
The informed source said that “there were a number of direct interactions – none of them took place in Damascus – but they have so far not resulted in any progress.”
The official source in the Biden administration confirmed direct communication with the Syrian government, noting that it was one of the many ways the administration was pursuing in an attempt to liberate Tice.
This week marks the 10th anniversary of the hostage taking in Syria of Tice, a journalist and former US Marine who was detained at a checkpoint near Damascus after he traveled to Syria to cover the civil war, according to the US State Department. And Biden announced, last Wednesday, that the US government knows “with certainty that the Syrian regime is holding him.”
The informed source stated that “despite the United States’ offer to hold high-level meetings with Bashar al-Assad’s regime to discuss the Tice issue, Syrian officials categorically refused, whether in direct or indirect talks. He added that “Syrian officials did not provide any explanation for their refusal or any demands or preconditions for such discussions.
“The United States has been heavily involved in trying to bring Tice home, including directly with Syrian officials and through third parties,” the official said. He added, “The Syrian government has not agreed to high-level meetings to discuss Tice’s case, and has not acknowledged his detention.” “We will continue to seek all means to secure Tice’s release,” he said.
A US State Department official stated that his country’s government “is extensively engaged with Syrian officials to bring Tice home, but Syria has not even acknowledged his detention.”
In addition to direct contacts, the Biden administration has used back channels, including the director of Lebanon’s General Security Service, Major General Abbas Ibrahim, who has played a role in securing the release of American detainees in the past and visited Washington, DC, last May.
Ibrahim told CNN that he visited Washington at the request of the US administration and met with Presidential Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens and CIA Director Bill Burns, among others. In the weeks following that visit, Ibrahim said he traveled to Damascus for discussions about Tice and another American, Majd Kamalmaz. He added that he conveyed a response from Syria to Washington, but did not provide further details due to the sensitivity of the matter.
Austin Tice’s parents called on the Biden administration to communicate directly with Damascus to try to secure their son’s release. His mother, Debra Tice, told CNN Thursday that she appreciated Biden’s public use of her son’s name, saying it was “a signal from the president that the United States government is willing to engage with Syria to bring Austin home.”
In his statement last Wednesday, Biden said his administration “has repeatedly asked the Syrian government to work with us so that we can bring Austin home.”
“On the tenth anniversary of his kidnapping, I am calling on Syria to end this matter and help us bring him home,” he added. “The Tice family deserve answers, and most importantly, they deserve to be reunited quickly with their son.”