US drops $13.6m reward for arrest of Syria's new leader

Move follows its first diplomatic mission to Damascus since early days of civil war

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DAMASCUS - The US lifted a US$10 million (S$13.6 million) bounty on Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa after an American delegation met him in Damascus on Dec 20, a move it said was needed for Washington to engage with the country's interim government.

Ms Barbara Leaf, Washington's top diplomat for the Middle East, told Sharaa that the US was dropping a reward for his arrest as she welcomed "positive messages" from their talks, including a promise to fight terrorism.

She made the comments after her meeting with Sharaa in Damascus - the first formal mission to Syria's capital by US diplomats since the early days of Syria's civil war.

The lightning offensive that toppled President Bashar al-Assad on Dec 8 was led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is rooted in Al-Qaeda's Syria branch but has sought to moderate its image in recent years.

Ms Leaf's meeting with HTS chief Sharaa came despite Washington's designation of his group as a terrorist organisation.

"Based on our discussion, I told him we would not be pursuing the Rewards for Justice reward offer that has been in effect for some years," Ms Leaf told reporters.

After their talks, "it's a little incoherent, then, to have a bounty on the guy's head", she said, welcoming the messages from him.

"We will be looking for progress on these principles and actions, not just words," she said.

"We fully support a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process that results in an inclusive and representative government that respects the rights of all Syrians, including women, and Syria's diverse ethnic and religious communities."