Syrian President Ahmed Al-Shar’ received a high-level US delegation in the capital Damascus, headed by the US Special Envoy to Syria, Thomas Barrack. According to pages affiliated with the Syrian Presidency on social media, the delegation included Senator Jeanne Shaheen and Representative Joe Wilson. The meeting discussed recent developments in Syria and the region, as well as ways to enhance dialogue and cooperation to achieve security and stability. This visit comes amid Israeli advances in the southwestern countryside of Damascus near Beit Jinn, about 40 km southwest of the capital, and coincides with escalating tensions in southern Syria following calls by Hikmat Al-Hajri to declare the independence of As-Suwayda province.