The U.S. flag has been hoisted outside of the long-shuttered ambassador’s residence in Damascus. It's a sign of growing ties between Washington and the new Syrian government.

The U.S. envoy for Syria, Thomas Barrack, raised the American flag over the ambassador's residence in Damascus on Thursday for the first time since the embassy closed in 2012, a year after conflict broke out.

The symbolic raising marks the first time the U.S. flag has flown above Damascus since Washington shut down its embassy in response to deadly violence.