Two Republican congressmen arrived in Damascus on Friday, the first visit by American lawmakers to Syria in many years and a signal that their party was starting to pay closer attention to the war-ravaged country.
The congressmen, Cory Mills of Florida and Marlin Stutzman of Indiana, were accompanied by members of the Syrian community in America. The visit is a fact-finding mission, organizers said, and the group was expected to meet with government ministers and with Syria’s new president, Ahmed al-Shara.
The group was also visiting with religious leaders, including representatives of Syria’s Christian minority, and touring historical sites in the Old City of Damascus, the capital, as well as some of the suburbs that were destroyed in the country’s nearly 14-year civil war.
Mr. Mills and other members of the American delegation touring Damascus on Friday. The congressional visit to Syria is a fact-finding mission, organizers said.Credit…Kiana Hayeri for The New York Times
“It’s important to come here and listen first hand,” Mr. Mills said soon after he arrived. “There is a tremendous amount of opportunity here to help rebuild the nation but also to help with stabilization across the region.”
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President Trump is focused on an overarching policy to stabilize the Middle East and expand the Abraham Accords, among other efforts, Mr. Mills added, referring to a plan to forge formal ties between Israel and surrounding Arab nations.
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