WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama has decided to return a US ambassador to Syria after a four-year hiatus as talks between the two nations intensify, US media reported on Tuesday.

The State Department informed Syria's ambassador to Washington, Imad Mustafa, of Obama's intention on Tuesday night, a senior administration official told the Washington Post.

By returning a senior US envoy to Damascus, Obama is seeking to carve out a far larger role for the United States in the region as he works to rehabilitate US relations with the Islamic world and the Arab Middle East, the newspaper said.