diff --git a/src/qemu/qemu_blockjob.c b/src/qemu/qemu_blockjob.c
index 34a4047210..a4662342a7 100644
--- a/src/qemu/qemu_blockjob.c
+++ b/src/qemu/qemu_blockjob.c
@@ -428,7 +428,6 @@ qemuBlockJobSyncBegin(qemuBlockJobDataPtr job)
 
     VIR_DEBUG("disk=%s", NULLSTR(diskdst));
     job->synchronous = true;
-    job->newstate = -1;
 }