US urges nations not to restore ties with Syria regime

The US has urged countries not to restore diplomatic relations with the Syrian regime of President Bashar Al-Assad or upgrade their economic cooperation with it.

The Al-Hurra news channel quoted a US State Department spokeswoman as saying that “the Assad regime has been responsible for countless atrocities, in addition to its frequent use of chemical weapons, inviting Iranian and Russian forces to Syria and threatening its neighbours, which represents a great danger to the entire region, including Oman.”

“Any attempt to restore or develop relations without addressing the regime’s atrocities against the Syrian people undermines efforts to enhance accountability and move towards a lasting, peaceful and political solution to the Syrian conflict in line with Security Council Resolution 2254,” she added.

READ: Assad blames Turkey for Nagorno-Karabakh fighting as battles rage on

The spokeswoman called on Bashar Al-Assad and his regime “to take irreversible steps to end the campaign of violence against the Syrian people, implement Security Council Resolution 2254 or face the ongoing diplomatic and economic isolation.”

Earlier on Sunday, the Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem accepted the credentials of Omani Ambassador Turki Bin Mahmood Al-Busaidy, in Damascus.

The Sultanate of Oman became the first Gulf state to appoint an ambassador to Damascus, since the outbreak of the Syrian revolution in 2011.