BEIRUT: American intelligence officials secured safe passage for Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi to the United States, Britain’s The Guardian said in a report published Tuesday.

According to the daily, the U.S. officials helped Makdissi flee to Washington in late November after the Syrian official made his way from his home country to the Lebanese capital Beirut.

The paper said it learned that Makdissi was granted asylum to the United States and was now co-operating with U.S. intelligence.

There have been conflicting reports as to the whereabouts of Makdissi.

The pro-Syrian government newspaper Al-Watan said in early December that Makdissi took a sanctioned leave for three months, following reports of the diplomat's resignation.

Lebanon’s Al-Liwaa said in a report last week that Makdissi was in the U.K. but the British embassy in Beirut has denied the claim.