SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Syria’s foreign minister Walid al-Moalem, a staunch of Syrian President Bashar al Assad’s crackdown on peaceful that sparked a decade old conflict, died on Monday, the government said.
There were no details on the cause of death, but the 79-year-old had for years been in poor health and heart problems.
Moalem, who was first appointed foreign minister in 2006 and was also a deputy prime minister, held a succession of top diplomatic posts, including envoy to the United States and was involved in unsuccessful negotiations with Israel in the 1990’s on a peace settlement.
“He was known for his honorable patriotic positions,” the government said in a statement, according to Reuters. It added he died at dawn and would be buried later on Monday in Damascus.
The veteran diplomat saw his country’s tilt further towards Iran and Russia, which have helped shore up Assad’s rule and allowed the authoritarian leader to regain most of the territory he once lost to insurgents.
Moalem, from a Sunni family from Damascus, publicly defended Moscow and Shi’ite Iran’s growing military role, backed by its proxies in Syria, which many Syrian opponents of Assad labelled as an occupation and blamed for fueling sectarian tension in a Sunni-majority country.
Syria erupted into civil war nearly a decade ago after Assad in 2011 began a crackdown on protesters calling for an end to his family’s rule.
