US envoy to Ankara calls Syria ‘major experiment in new diplomacy’

US Ambassador to Türkiye and Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack on Friday described Syria as “one of the greatest experiments in new diplomacy” in recent times.

“A quantum move that nobody really anticipated or expected, in which you have cooperation from the region, from America, from allies, and from a culture that is in search of itself,” Barrack said on Syria, while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF).

Barrack stressed that everyone in the Middle East “is searching for the same thing, tolerance, respect, humility, understanding.”

“It comes starting with the family, then the community, then the tribe, then the religion, and lastly from the nation,” he said, adding that Syria is a great example of “a laboratory for us to experiment, can dialogue and cooperation work, and so far it's doing a great job.”

Barrack said the forum comes at a time of growing global uncertainty and complex challenges. He described diplomacy as a vital tool amid ongoing crises, saying diplomats work to build dialogue that can prevent conflict.

“So these diplomats, from whom I learn every day, are there to create dialogue, conversations, sentences, which prevent bullets, missiles, rockets, and weapons,” Barrack said.

“So, I think, this is a super important two days,” he added.

Barrack said he was “excited and delighted to be here, listening, learning, and helping in little bits if I can,” noting the confused and complicated global environment.

* Writing by Asiye Yilmaz in Istanbul.