Debra Tice met with Syria's new administration leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus
The mother of an American journalist who went missing in Syria in 2012 urged the incoming US President Donald Trump to help reveal her son's fate.
Debra Tice arrived in Damascus on Sunday, for the first time in 10 years as the toppled regime of Bashar al-Assad refused to renew her visa or to help reveal the fate of her son Austin Tice.
"I have hope that Trump administration will sincerely engage in diligent work to bring Austin home," Debra told a press conference on Monday.
"I look forward to working closely with his (Trump's) new team including National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and special presidential envoy Adam Boehler," she said.
On Sunday, Debra met with Syria's new administration leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, according to the state news agency SANA.
No details were provided by the broadcaster about the content of their meeting.
"Syria is starting a new chapter and working towards a brighter future," she said.
Austin Tice, a freelance journalist for outlets including McClatchy, CBS, and The Washington Post, disappeared in Syria on Aug. 14, 2012, shortly after his 31st birthday. He was reportedly stopped at a checkpoint in a Damascus suburb while reporting on Syria's civil war.
Assad, Syria's leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia after anti-regime groups took control of Damascus on Dec. 8, ending the Baath Party regime, which had been in power since 1963.
