Tuesday, 24 January 2012The U.S. State Department on Monday called on Syria to take more steps to protect the American embassy in Damascus, saying that otherwise it might have no choice but to close its mission there, Xinhua reported.
"We've asked them for some steps. They've offered about half of what we've asked for," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters at a regular briefing.
"They have offered to do some of the things that we've asked for, but not enough," she added, declining to detail the U.S. demands.
Media here reported on Friday that the United States was considering closing its embassy in Syria, citing increasing safety concerns for its embassy personnel.
In a statement issued on Friday, the State Department expressed serious concerns about the deteriorating security situation in Syria and about the safety and security of embassy staff.
In Monday's briefing, Nuland said the U.S. government had not had a "complete response" from Syrian government yet, stressing that Washington had made it clear that "if these security issues are not addressed, we may have no choice but to close our mission."
However, Nuland said that her government did not intend to close the embassy and call back its embassador because the U.S. presence there is very helpful to "our understanding of the situation" and "in conveying the American government."
"That's why we've been trying so hard to negotiate increased security for the mission," she added.
U.S. Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford was called back on Oct. 24 last year due to threats against his safety, but returned on Dec. 6.
In October last year, the State Department ordered family members of embassy staff in Damascus to leave. On Jan. 11, the State Department ordered a further reduction in staffing of the U.S. embassy due to security concerns.
Syria has seen an unabated violence since the unrest broke out in March last year. The United Nations said that more than 5,400 people have been killed in the country so far.
Analysts predicted that violence in Syria could further escalate after the Arab League on Sunday openly asked Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down and to set up a national unity government within two months. |
Tuesday, 24 January 2012
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