Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan Shaibani and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a telephone call on 3 July, marking the highest-level contact between Washington and Damascus since the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime last December. Both sides said they want to rebuild ties that have been largely frozen for more than a decade. Shaibani asked for full removal of U.S. economic restrictions, singling out the Caesar Act, while Rubio said the administration is implementing President Donald Trump’s 30 June order that eased broad sanctions and would work with Congress to repeal the remaining measures. Damascus argues that the curbs deter investors and hinder post-war reconstruction. Regional security dominated much of the conversation. Syria proposed reviving the 1974 disengagement agreement that created a U.N.-monitored buffer zone on the Golan Heights, after months of Israeli air and ground operations inside Syrian territory. The two ministers also agreed to form a joint committee on chemical weapons, coordinate counter-ISIS intelligence following last month’s church bombing that killed 25 people, and voiced concern over Iran’s growing military footprint in Syria. Rubio signalled a broader diplomatic thaw, saying Washington intends to reopen its embassy in Damascus and inviting Shaibani to visit the U.S. capital. The call also touched on plans for interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa to attend the U.N. General Assembly in New York in September, underscoring the momentum toward re-engagement between the two countries.