Biden meets with the parents of American journalist Austin Tice, kidnapped in Syria

The parents of Austin Tice, an American journalist and Marine Corps veteran kidnapped in Syria, have been waiting nearly a decade for their son to return home. After a public plea for support over the weekend, President Joe Biden wasted no time saying Monday that he would meet with them “today.”

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki provided more details about the meeting after it took place, saying in a statement that “the President reiterated his commitment to continue working through all available avenues to ensure the return of Austin with his family.”

Psaki added that Biden’s national security team will “remain in regular contact” with the Tice family, as well as the families of other hostages.

The increased attention to Tice’s case comes after the head of the White House Correspondents Association paid tribute to her at the group’s annual dinner on Saturday, asking her mother to stand and be recognized before the president’s gaze.

Later that night, during his own remarks, Biden said he would like to meet with her and Tice’s father.

“After the president made those comments, we obviously jumped into action to work to set up the meeting on Sunday and see if Debra and Mark Tice, Austin’s parents, would be available,” Psaki said during a briefing.

That high-profile moment at the White House Correspondents Association dinner came just days after Trevor Reed, an American and former Marine who was held captive in Russia for nearly two years, was released as part of a international prisoner swap, a deal that fell through weeks after Reed’s parents met at the White House with their own president.

The Tices have previously met with National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, but Psaki called the hearing with Biden “an additional and more significant step.”

State Department spokesman Ned Price added that the meeting was a testament to the administration’s commitment to bringing Tice back home, adding that “he has been away from his family for far too long and we are doing everything we can.” to see that come to an end.” successful conclusion.

But Tice’s incarceration poses unique challenges. Reed’s release was the result of months of intense negotiations in Moscow. But the United States has not had a formal diplomatic relationship with Syria since the start of the country’s civil war in 2012, something about which Tice’s mother has expressed her frustration in previous interviews.

Despite that complication, Price said the United States could still secure Tice’s freedom.

“You didn’t hear us share the details of those queries before [Trevor Reed] was released. We believe that we can achieve better and more effective potentially successful outcomes if we have the space to have private conversations,” Price said. “Of course we don’t have, I would say, completely normal relations with Moscow at the moment and yet we were able to have a low-key, focused set of discussions about the effort to free Trevor Reed that was ultimately successful.”

Tice disappeared in 2012 while covering the Free Syrian Army, a group of Syrian military officers who had joined the opposition against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. A month later, a video was released showing him blindfolded, being pulled out of a car and led by armed men up a hill, saying “Oh, Jesus.” He has not been heard from publicly since.

The FBI is offering a reward of up to $1 million for information leading directly to the safe location, recovery and return of Tice.