Feltman pointed out that the US policy in Syria, for the administrations of former presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama, had failed to achieve tangible results regarding Washington’s goals, calling for testing a new approach based on Assad’s taking ‘concrete, specific and transparent steps that cannot be reversed in the matter of political reform’ in exchange for Washington’s action on, among other things, sanctions relief.

Feltman, who served as Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations Secretary-General for Political Affairs and Assistant Secretary of State for Middle East Affairs, confirmed that there were “rumors” that he would be the new envoy for the Syrian file, explaining: “I say frankly, no one has contacted me about that. “I think that appointing an envoy to Syria is not in the Biden administration’s priority.” He continued: “But there are many questions: What is the task? the authorities? Political support for the envoy? But no one has called me »from the US government yet. He indicated that Biden has other priorities such as Russia, Iran and support for allies in the region, and “Syria is part of it.”

Feltman also acknowledged that the economic siege imposed by the USA on Lebanon came in the context of exerting pressure on Syria, Iran and Russia and ‘bringing them to the table of negotiations’.