Syria denies holding missing U.S. journalist Austin Tice despite Biden ‘certainty’ – National

Syria denied on Wednesday it’s holding U.S. journalist Austin Tice or different Individuals after President Joe Biden accused the Syrian authorities of detaining him.

The Syrian International Ministry mentioned in an announcement that Damascus “denies it had kidnapped or is holding any American citizen on its territories.”

“The U.S. issued final week deceptive and illogical statements by the American president and secretary of state that included baseless accusations towards Syria that it had kidnapped or detained Americans together with former U.S. Marine Austin Tice,” the assertion mentioned.

Biden’s feedback final week got here in an announcement launched by the White Home to mark the tenth anniversary of Tice’s abduction, which passed off when he was in Syria masking its prolonged battle.

Biden’s remarks have been the clearest indication up to now that the U.S. is definite Tice is being held by the federal government of President Bashar Assad.

“We all know with certainty that he has been held by the Authorities of Syria,” Biden mentioned in his assertion final week. “We’ve got repeatedly requested the federal government of Syria to work with us in order that we are able to carry Austin residence.”

State Division Spokesman Ned Value informed reporters on Tuesday that the U.S. authorities has pushed Syria to return each American. On Tice’s case particularly, he mentioned, the Biden administration has “engaged extensively — and that features immediately — with Syrian officers and thru third events.”

“Syria has by no means acknowledged holding him,” Value mentioned of Tice, including that “we aren’t going to be deterred in our efforts. We’re going to pursue each avenue for securing Austin’s protected return.”

The Syrian International Ministry denied in its assertion having any secret contacts with U.S. officers on the lacking Individuals, including that “any official dialogue with the American authorities will solely be public based mostly on the respect of Syria’s sovereignty.”

In Could, high Lebanese safety official Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim met with U.S. officers in Washington as a part of mediation efforts between the U.S. and Syria for Tice’s launch. Ibrahim, the chief of Lebanon’s Normal Safety Directorate, has mediated difficult hostage releases previously.

In Could, Biden met Tice’s mother and father and reiterated his dedication to working towards “Austin’s lengthy overdue return to his household.”

Within the closing months of the Trump administration, two U.S. officers — together with the federal government’s high hostage negotiator, Roger Carstens, a former Military Particular Forces officer — made a secret go to to Damascus to hunt info on Tice and different Individuals who’ve disappeared in Syria.

It was the highest-level talks in years between the U.S. and Assad’s authorities, although Syrian officers supplied no significant info on Tice.

Tice went lacking shortly after his thirty first birthday on Aug. 14, 2012 at a checkpoint in a contested space west of the capital of Damascus. A video launched a month later confirmed him blindfolded and held by armed males, saying, “Oh, Jesus.”

He has not been heard from since.

Tice is one in all two Individuals who went lacking in Syria. The opposite is Majd Kamalmaz, a psychologist from Virginia, who vanished in Syria in 2017.

Tice is from Houston and his work had been printed by The Washington Publish, McClatchy newspapers and different shops. He went to Syria to cowl the battle that began in 2011. The battle has left tons of of 1000’s lifeless and displaced practically half of the pre-conflict inhabitants of 23 million.

Greater than 5 million of these are outdoors the nation.