Belgium decided Thursday to close its embassy in Damascus due to
security concerns and in protest at the Syrian regime's violent
repression of dissent.
The mission will close Saturday when the ambassador leaves Syria
while the first secretary will move into an office in the European Union
delegation, the Belgian Foreign Ministry said.
Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders also decided to downgrade
diplomatic relations to the level of charge d'affaire "to protest the
endless violence of the Syrian authorities against the population," it
added.
Belgium follows the lead of other EU nations including Britain,
France, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands, which closed their embassies
along with the United States, Turkey, Japan and Gulf states.
Reynders indicated he would participate in the "Friends of Syria"
meeting in Istanbul on Sunday, an international gathering to discuss
efforts to end violence that the United Nations estimates has killed
more than 9,000 people.
-AFP/NOW Lebanon
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