The administration of US President Joe Biden appointed Aimee Cutrona of Syrian origin as Acting Special Representative for Syria Engagement at the National Security Council.
The White House said that Cutrona “has extensive experience supporting US diplomacy in the region.”
The appointment came shortly after Biden took office last January.
Cutrona began her career in 1999, serving her first assignment in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Since then she has served as a Political Officer in Embassies in El Salvador, Qatar, and Egypt.
She also served in Washington in the Near Eastern Affairs Bureau, covering Iraq, Algeria, and Tunisia, and as a special assistant to the then Under Secretary for Global Affairs including on efforts to promote International Women’s Issues and combat Trafficking in Persons.
Cutrona is a graduate of Smith College and holds a master’s degree in International Relations and Conflict Management from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).
She also serves as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Levant Affairs in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs as President Biden has still yet to nominate a new person for the post.
Barbara Leaf, the former ambassador to the UAE, who serves on the National Security Council’s Middle East team at the White House, is a top contender for that position.
Cutrona’s appointment comes during a critical stage of the US-Syrian relations, particularly after the US President ordered last month airstrikes in Syria that the Pentagon said targeting by Iranian-backed militias, in retaliation for rocket attacks on US targets in Iraq.
Last week, US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said it is time to reach a real political solution in Syria, adding that: “This is the only way to bring sustainable peace, stability and security to the Syrian people.”
