American envoys have arrived in Syria to talk directly to the new Islamist leaders, the State Department says, in the most official U.S. diplomatic mission to the country since the start of the long-running civil war.

The State Department’s top diplomat for the Middle East, Barbara Leaf, presidential envoy for hostage issues Roger Carstens, and newly appointed senior adviser Daniel Rubinstein, who is now tasked with leading the U.S. Department’s engagement on Syria, are the first U.S. diplomats to travel to Damascus since Syrian opposition militias overthrew Bashar al-Assad.

The diplomats will meet with representatives of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) – which has been designated a terrorist organization by Washington – and civil society to discuss with Syrians “their vision for the future of their country and how the United States can help support them,” a State Department spokesman said.