For the first time in 13 years, a U.S. Flag was raised outside the long-closed U.S. ambassador’s residence in Damascus, Syria. Tom Barrack, serving as the special envoy to Syria, arrived in Syria earlier this week for the flag-raising ceremony. Special Envoy Barrack met with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa and attended the signing of an agreement to develop a 5,000-megawatt energy project to help Syria’s war-battered electricity grid. The United States hasn’t formally opened its embassy in Damascus since 2012, which was the beginning of the Syrian Civil War. Take a look: NEW – the US flag is now flying at the Embassy compound in #Damascus, #Syria. US Special Envoy Tom Barrack (USAMBTurkiye) hoisted the flag, alongside #Syria Foreign Minister @AsaadHShaibani. pic.twitter.com/SxUB56lZYv — Charles Lister (@Charles_Lister) May 29, 2025 Check out what Yahoo News reported: An American flag was hoisted outside of the long-shuttered U.S. ambassador’s residence in Damascus on Thursday, in a sign of growing ties between Washington and the new Syrian government. The U.S. ambassador to Turkey, Tom Barrack, who has also been appointed special envoy to Syria, arrived to inaugurate the residence, Syrian state-run news agency SANA reported. He met with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa and attended the signing of an agreement for a consortium of Qatari, Turkish and U.S. companies for development of a 5,000-megawatt energy project to revitalize much of Syria’s war-battered electricity grid. Under the deal signed Thursday, a consortium led by Qatar’s UCC Concession Investments — along with Power International USA and Turkey’s Kalyon GES Enerji Yatirimlari, Cengiz Enerji — will develop four combined-cycle gas turbines with a total generating capacity estimated at approximately 4,000 megawatts and a 1,000-megawatt solar power plant. A statement sent out by UCC said that “once completed, these projects are expected to supply over 50% of the country’s electricity needs.” Washington hasn’t formally reopened its embassy in Damascus, which closed in 2012 after protests against the government of then-President Bashar Assad, met by a brutal crackdown, spiraled into civil war. Assad was unseated in December in a lightning rebel offensive. But Barrack’s visit and the raising of the flag were a significant signal of warming relations. Washington was initially circumspect about Syria’s new leaders, led by Ahmad al-Sharaa, the former leader of an Islamist insurgent group that the U.S. still lists as a terrorist organization. However, the Trump administration — encouraged by two U.S. allies in the region, Saudi Arabia and Turkey — has in recent weeks shown increasing openness to Damascus. Our American flag rose proudly today over Damascus along with the rise of the hopes and aspirations of the Syrian people due to @POTUS’s bold and courageous vision and decision on May 13th. The President lifted onerous sanctions to allow Syria to determine its own future and has… pic.twitter.com/47LkbHq92g — Ambassador Tom Barrack (@USAMBTurkiye) May 29, 2025 Per Reuters: The United States’ newly-appointed Syria envoy said he believed peace between Syria and Israel was achievable as he made his first trip to Damascus on Thursday, praising the Islamist-led government and saying it was ready for dialogue. Thomas Barrack raised the American flag over the ambassador’s residence for the first time since the U.S. embassy closed in 2012, underlining a rapid expansion of U.S. ties with Damascus since President Donald Trump unexpectedly announced the lifting of sanctions and met Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa.