New Delhi, July 22 -- A U.S. envoy doubled down on Washington's support for Syria's new government, saying Monday there is "no Plan B" to working with it to unite the country still reeling from years of civil war and wracked by new sectarian violence.

In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, Tom Barrack also criticized Israel's recent intervention in Syria, calling it poorly timed and saying it complicated efforts to stabilize the region.

Barrack is ambassador to Turkey and special envoy to Syria, with a short-term mandate in Lebanon. He spoke in Beirut following more than a week of clashes in Syria's southern province of Sweida between militias of the Druze religious minority and Sunni Muslim Bedouin tribes.

Syrian governm...