US suspends Syria embassy operations
The US has ordered that Assad's government immediately cease all diplomatic operations at its embassy in the US, a move that has drawn praise from congressional leaders.
The United States announced Tuesday that it has ordered the Syrian government to immediately cease all operations at its embassy in Washington, D.C. and two honorary consulates in Houston, Texas and Troy, Michigan.
Personnel at the facilities who are not US citizens or legal US residents have been ordered to depart the country.
“For three years, Bashar al-Asad has refused to heed the call of the Syrian people to step aside...and created a humanitarian catastrophe,” Daniel Rubinstein, the new US Special Envoy for Syria, said in a press statement.
“Following the announcement that the Syrian Embassy has suspended its provision of consular services, and in consideration of the atrocities the Asad regime has committed against the Syrian people, we have determined it is unacceptable for individuals appointed by that regime to conduct diplomatic or consular operations in the United States,” Rubinstein said.
