Damascus, SAEDNEWS, Nov. 16: Syria’s top diplomat and longtime Foreign Minister Walid al-Moalem, a staunch defender of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s policies amid 10-years long conflict, has died, state TV reported early on Monday.
There were no details on the cause of death, but the 79-year old had for years been in poor health with heart problems. Moalem was first appointed foreign minister in 2006 and also held the post of deputy prime minister. The veteran diplomat saw his country’s tilt further towards Iran and Russia, which have helped shore up Assad’s rule and allowed the leader to regain most of the territory he once lost to fighters.
Moalem accused Washington and the West of increasing the country’s unrest and labelled armed fighters as “terrorists” in a conflict that has cost tens of hundreds of thousands of deaths and led to the exodus of millions of refugees (Source: Al Jazeera).
Ummayyad Mosque, Damascus, Syria
