“On May 16, Acting Assistant Secretary Joey Hood, joined by Deputy Assistant Secretary and Acting Special Representative for Syria Aimee Cutrona, Deputy Envoy for Syria David Brownstein, and White House National Security Council Director for Iraq and Syria Zehra Bell, traveled to northeast Syria for meetings with senior officials of the Syrian Democratic Forces, the Syrian Democratic Council, ranking council members and tribal leaders from Raqqa, Coalition military counterparts, and humanitarian actors,” the release said on Monday, May 17.
“The Acting Assistant Secretary underscored the U.S. commitment to cooperation and coordination in the Coalition to Defeat ISIS, continued stability in northeast Syria, and the delivery of stabilisation assistance to liberated areas to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS*.”
The State Department noted that during the meetings, Hood stressed Washington’s multinational drive to reopen cross-border points of entry for humanitarian assistance without Damascus approval.
“[Hood] reiterated that the United States will continue to be a leader in the Syrian humanitarian response while working with like-minded countries to ensure the reauthorisation of cross-border assistance into Syria,” the release added.
Rear Adm. Alexander Karpov, the deputy head of the Russian Defense Ministry's Center for Reconciliation of Opposing Sides in Syria, said earlier in May that the US-led coalition has intensified airborne shipments of military cargo and movement of military equipment by land in eastern Syria.
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