US scraps $10m bounty for arrest of Syria's new leader Sharaa
Ahmed al-Sharaa met with US officials in Damascus
Assistant Secretary of State Barbara Leaf said the discussion with Sharaa was "very productive", and he came across as "pragmatic".
The US delegation arrived in the capital, Damascus, after HTS overthrew the Bashar al-Assad regime less than a fortnight ago. Washington still designates it as a terrorist group.
A State Department spokesperson confirmed that the diplomats discussed "transition principles" supported by the US, regional events and the need to fight against IS.
The spokesperson also said the officials were seeking further information on American citizens who disappeared under Assad's regime, including journalist Austin Tice, who was abducted in Damascus in 2012, and psychotherapist Majd Kamalmaz, who disappeared in 2017.
A US embassy spokesperson earlier said a news conference involving Ms Leaf had been cancelled due to "security concerns".
However during a later briefing, Leaf denied that, insisting "street celebrations" were the cause of the delay.
The visit is the first formal American diplomatic appearance in Damascus in more than a decade.
It is a further sign of the dramatic shifts under way in Syria since the ousting of Assad, and the speed of efforts by the US and Europe, also leaning on Arab countries, to try to influence its emerging governance.
The visit follows those of delegations in recent days from the UN and other countries including the UK, France and Germany.
The delegation of senior officials includes Barbara Leaf, Roger Carstens, who is US President Joe Biden's hostage envoy, and Daniel Rubinstein, a senior adviser in the Bureau of Near East Affairs.
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