Damascus, Syria, February 17, 2010, SPA -- William Burns, the U.S. Under Secretary of State for political affairs arrived here this morning on an official visit to Syria. On arrival, he was received by President Bashar Assad. Burns is the highest ranking U.S. official to visit Syria since January 2005, the Associated Press reported. The visit comes a day after U.S. President Barack Obama said he would nominate a career diplomat to become the United States' first ambassador to Damascus since 2005. --SPA 13:59 LOCAL TIME 10:59 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/749245