Mystery surrounds the whereabouts of Jihad al-Makdissi, the former Syrian foreign ministry spokesman and one of the most widely known faces of the Assad regime.
Based on a tip from usually reliable diplomatic sources, the Guardian reported yesterday that he had defected and was on the way to the US.
However, the State Department says he has not turned up there. A State Department spokesman, Mark Toner, told al-Hayat newspaper: "We believe Jihad Makdissi is in London, we cannot confirm. Not aware of him reaching out to US embassy," according to a tweet by the paper's Washington correspondent.
The comment has raised British eyebrows, as UK officials were insistent throughout the day that Makdissi had not arrived in London. I understand there have been some transatlantic emails and phone calls aimed at getting the US and the UK on the same page.
Meanwhile, Syria's deputy foreign minister, Faisal Makdad told Sky News that Makdissi had not defected at all and was on a "three-month sabbatical". It is not clear where the former spokesman is supposed to be spending the sabbatical, nor how the government claim squared with reports from Damascus yesterday that Makdissi's house had been burned down by the pro-government Shabiha militia.
