US announces end of bounty on new Syrian leader

A senior US diplomat told Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa on Friday that Washington was scrapping a reward for his arrest as she welcomed "positive messages" from their talks including a promise to fight terrorism.

"Based on our discussion, I told him we would not be pursuing the Rewards for Justice reward offer that has been in effect for some years," Barbara Leaf, the top US diplomat for the Middle East, told reporters after her meeting in Damascus.

Leaf, part of the first formal visit by US diplomats to Damascus since the early days of the brutal civil war, said "we welcomed positive messages" from Sharaa since his Islamist-rooted HTS rebels toppled strongman Bashar al-Assad.

"We will be looking for progress on these principles and actions, not just words," she said.

"I also communicated the importance of inclusion and broad consultation during this time of transition," she said.

"We fully support a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process that results in an inclusive and representative government which respects the rights of all Syrians, including women, and Syria's diverse ethnic and religious communities."