- Title: USA: Syrian diplomat: Assad's future up to Syrian people.
- Date: 7th February 2012
- Summary: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 6, 2012) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF SYRIAN EMBASSY SYRIAN FLAG WAVING IN BREEZE SIGN ON EMBASSY BUILDING READING "EMBASSY OF THE SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC" (SOUNDBITE) (English) ROUA SHURBAJI, ATTACHÉ, EMBASSY OF THE SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC SAYING: "The Syrian government respects and work in compliance with its' commitment, its' internatio
- Embargoed: 22nd February 2012 12:00
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- Location: Usa, Usa
- Country: USA
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- Reuters ID: LVA7Q9WJQU2T6D97EH783J0YEI3I
- Story Text: Syrian attaché says the future of the Assad regime will be decided by "only the people of Syria" -- as the United States closes its embassy in Damascus.
An attaché of the Syrian Embassy in Washington said on Monday (February 6) the future of President Bashar al-Assad's regime will remain in the hands of the Syrian people, not outside forces.
"Syria is a dependent, sovereign country and the legitimacy of the President is decided by the people of Syria and the power he has right now is given to him by the people of Syria and only the people of Syria have to decide how and when and if this situation is going to change," Roua Shurbaji, Attaché to the Syrian Embassy told Reuters.
The United States closed its embassy in Damascus on Monday and President Barack Obama vowed to ratchet up pressure on Assad to step down, even as world powers remained divided over how to end the crisis.
Washington said it was pulling all of its remaining diplomats out of Syria just two days after Western countries failed to secure a U.N. Security Council resolution that would have backed an Arab League call for Assad to leave power.
Shurbaji maintains Syria is working to protect the safety of "all diplomatic missions."
"The Syrian government respects and work in compliance with its international commitment to protect all diplomatic missions, premises and personnel in Damascus including the U.S. Embassy there. And I can tell you we've worked to spare no effort to ensure the protection and the safety and security of all the diplomatic premises and personnel in Damascus," Shurbaji said.
The U.S. decision, which was foreshadowed by the State Department last month, came as Washington and its allies scrambled to find a new strategy to rally the international community to force Assad to end his bloody, 11-month-old crackdown on the opposition.
The State Department, which had warned it would close the embassy unless security concerns were addressed, said it had suspended embassy operations and withdrawn Ambassador Robert Ford due to the worsening security situation. But the move stopped short of a formal break in diplomatic ties between Washington and Damascus.
Shurbaji blamed the media for the negative impressions of Syria. She said that despite the violence and bombings there, the Syrian people are leading their normal lives.
"The picture in Syria right now is very much different than the picture the media all around the world is trying to portray it. The Syrian government has acknowledged the legitimate demands of the people there and there's a lot of free forums going on. This movement has been hijacked with unarmed groups and terrorists and no country in the world, even the U.S. will tolerate such incidents on its' ground because the responsibility of its' government is first and foremost to ensure the safety and security of the people and to maintain law and order in the country," she said.
Syrian forces bombarded Homs on Monday, killing at least 50 people in a sustained assault on several districts of the city which has become a center of armed opposition to Assad, the Syrian National Council opposition group said.
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