The US State Department confirmed that Washington will not normalize its relations with the regime of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, in the absence of real progress for a political solution.
Vedant Patel, deputy spokesman for the US State Department, said Washington's position rejecting normalization had not changed, stressing that "we will not normalize with the Assad regime, and we do not encourage others to do so."
On the other hand, Patel said during a press conference that drug trafficking by the Assad regime, Hezbollah and their affiliates - according to him - threatens stability in the region.
Penalties
The US Treasury Department on Tuesday imposed new sanctions on 6 people, including two relatives of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, for their role in the production or export of the dangerous Captagon stimulant.
The ministry said the Captagon trade is worth billions of dollars, and that the sanctions highlight the role of Lebanese smugglers and the Assad family's dominance of the trade in this dangerous stimulant that contributes to funding the Syrian government.
In a related context, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that his country will take all necessary measures to defend its forces and interests abroad.
The recent strikes in Syria fall within that framework, he said, adding at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing that U.S. forces were ready to face any challenges.
Fate of the missing
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General António Guterres renewed his call for the establishment of a UN body to follow up on the fate and whereabouts of thousands of missing people in Syria.
Speaking at an informal meeting of the U.N. General Assembly on the human rights situation in Syria, Guterres said the whereabouts of some 100,<> Syrians remained unknown, as was their fate.
Decisive steps are needed by the international community to provide an effective path to determine the fate and whereabouts of the missing, follow up on the release of detainees, and provide support to affected families.