Syria approves US nominee to be the next ambassador after a five-year diplomatic hiatus
Robert Ford
Syria has accepted the US nomination of a new ambassador to Damascus, a Syrian daily has reported.
“The Syrian foreign ministry has sent its acceptance of the US ambassador who will take up the position in Damascus around one month after US Middle East envoy George Mitchell gave the name of the envoy to the Syrian leaders during his latest visit to Syria,” Al Watan daily said, quoting unnamed Western diplomats.
However, the diplomatic sources refused to confirm whether the name of the diplomat would be Robert Ford, saying that, according to the protocol, the White House would announce it officially after it is submitted to the Senate for approval.
Diplomats last month said that the proposed ambassador is Robert Ford, an Arabist with deep knowledge of the region who is currently serving as the US deputy ambassador in Iraq.
“Syria’s acceptance of the new US ambassador comes days before a planned visit by US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs William Joseph Burns to Damascus on February 17 to discuss bilateral relations and the latest developments in the region,” the paper said on Thursday.
The foreign ministers of Austria and Czech Republic are also expected next week in Damascus as the Syrian capital attracts greater European interest.
The US mission post in Syria has been vacant since February 2005 when the Bush administration called back Margaret Scobey in response to the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and amid tensions between the two countries mainly over issues relating to Iraq and Lebanon.
Ford is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service. He entered the service in 1985 and has been stationed in Izmir, Cairo, Algiers, and Yaoundé before moving in 2001 to Bahrain as deputy to Ambassador Ronald E. Neumann who was later called to serve in Iraq. Ford too was moved to Iraq in 2002, but he remained officially named to Manama until 2004. He played a major role in explaining US views on post-September 11 developments and interacting with Arabs, appearing on Bahrain TV to address viewers in Arabic. He was appointed Political Counselor to the US embassy in Baghdad from 2004 until 2006. He subsequently served as US ambassador to Algeria from August 2006 until June 2008. Ford received his Master of Arts in 1983 from Johns Hopkins University. He is a recipient of several Department of State awards, including the 2005 James Clement Dunn Award for outstanding work at the mid-level in the Foreign Service as well as three Superior Honor Awards and two Meritorious Honor Awards.
