WASHINGTON, June 1 (UPI) -- Washington plans a two-pronged approach to engagement with a Damascus visit by a top Middle East envoy coinciding with a presidential tour of the Middle East.
George Mitchell, Washington's top envoy for negotiations on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, is expected in Damascus as early as this week, the Financial Times reports.
U.S. President Barack Obama, meanwhile, heads to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, followed by a trip to Cairo, where he plans to give a major foreign policy speech on Thursday.
Daniel Shapiro, a top official on the U.S. National Security Council, and Jeffrey Feltman, acting assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, have made several trips to Damascus in recent months. Mitchell, however, would be the highest-ranking official to Damascus since 2005.
The move is part of a broader effort by Washington to erase years of isolationist policy, solidifying Obama's strong interest in moving forward with regional relations.
Syria has welcomed the renewed Washington efforts, though it joined other U.S. opponents by questioning a decision to renew economic sanctions amid a climate of detente.
