United States announced Monday that it has shut down its embassy in the Syrian capital Damascus and withdrawn all its staff due to the Syrian government's failure to address concerns about the safety of the diplomatic staff in wake of the deteriorating security situation in the Middle East nation.
US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland in a statement said the US Embassy in Syria suspended operations on February 6, with Ambassador Robert Ford and other US diplomats having already departed the country.
"The recent surge in violence, including bombings in Damascus on December 23 and January 6, has raised serious concerns that our Embassy is not sufficiently protected from armed attack. We, along with several other diplomatic missions, conveyed our security concerns to the Syrian Government but the regime failed to respond adequately," Nuland said.
Stressing that Robert Ford remains the US Ambassador to Syria in spite of his withdrawal from the country, the statement added: "As the President's representative, he will continue his work and engagement with the Syrian people as head of our Syria team in Washington. Together with other senior US officials, Ambassador Ford will maintain contacts with the Syrian opposition and continue our efforts to support the peaceful political transition which the Syrian people have so bravely sought."
The State Department said its decision to suspend diplomatic relations with Damascus was prompted by the "dangerous path" taken by the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as well as its inability to exert its control over the country, and added: "It also underscores the urgent need for the international community to act without delay to support the Arab League's transition plan before the regime's escalating violence puts a political solution out of reach and further jeopardizes regional peace and security."
The development comes two days after Russia and China vetoed a draft resolution endorsing an Arab League plan for Syria tabled for vote at the UN Security Council on Saturday. The plan required Assad to step down and authorize his deputy to begin peace talks with the opposition in two weeks and form a national unity government involving the opposition in two months.
Nevertheless, Russia and China insisted that the plan amounted to regime change in Syria. Both nations had indicated earlier that they would veto any resolution that imposes U.N. sanctions on Syria or authorizes foreign military intervention in that Arab country.
Russia and China in October jointly vetoed a Western resolution condemning repression in Syria. They had also objected to NATO military operation in Libya that eventually helped in toppling the regime of Col. Moammar Qadhafi last year.
Notwithstanding past refusals by China and Russia to punish the Assad regime at the U.N. over its continued repression, the EU, the U.S. and Turkey have imposed several rounds of sanctions on the regime. The US and the EU has already indicated that they aim to slam the Assad regime with tighter sanctions in wake of the Chinese and Russian vetoes in Saturday's UNSC vote.
The U.N. estimates that more than 5,400 people have died in Syria since pro-democracy protests broke out last March, apparently fueled by the 'Arab Spring' uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East. The Assad regime, however, blames "armed terrorist gangs" backed by Islamists and foreign mercenaries for the violence in the country. The Syrian government has also warned against any foreign military intervention in the Middle East nation
Reports emerging from Syria suggest that the regime is continuing to use tanks and hundreds of heavily-armed troops in military operations to put down the unrest. Activists claimed Monday that Syrian troops were shelling the city of Homes as well as several other unrest-hit cities and towns, killing and injuring dozens in the process. Such claims cannot be independently verified as the Syrian government has imposed restrictions on most foreign media.
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Market Analysis
June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.