Congress ratified new ambassador to Syria

The US Congress on Tuesday evening ratified a decision for appointing Margaret Scooby as an ambassador for the US to Syria.

Well-informed government sources said that Scooby is expected to arrive in Damascus after Christmas, and to resume her activities by the beginning of the new year.

This is the first time in which Scooby represents her country as an ambassador. Before she was chosen for her new post, she was the deputy ambassador at the American embassy in Riyadh. Before that she served various diplomatic posts in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. She also worked as the chairperson of the political section in the American consulate in Jerusalem.

Meantime, well-informed sources in Damascus said that the Syria asked the American administration to accept the Syrian Charge De Affairs in Washington, Imad Mustafa, as ambassador, in a post which has been vacant for years.

On the other hand, the advisor of for the Syrian president, and minister for expatriates affairs, Butheina Shaaban, continued her American tour. So far the tour covered stations in California and Texas. She will arrive tomorrow in Washington to meet with officials and academics including the US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs William Joseph Burns.