LEAD: US closes embassy in Syria

Feb 6, 2012, 19:56 GMT

Washington - The United States announced Monday that it had closed its embassy in Damascus because of concerns over the worsening security situation in Syria.

US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said ambassador Robert Ford and all embassy personnel had left the country, though relations remain formally intact.

She said the Syrian regime 'failed to respond adequately' to the security concerns of the US and other diplomatic missions.

'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,' Nuland said.

She said that the deteriorating security situation, which led to the suspension of diplomatic operations, 'makes clear once more the dangerous path' chosen by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his regime's inability to fully control Syria.

Government supporters stoned the US embassy in July, and Ford's convoy was harassed in September. The ambassador, who has made frequent visits to restive districts and met with opposition figures during the yearlong upheaval in Syria, was pulled from the country for several weeks late last year after the State Department cited concerns for his safety.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said the withdrawal of the embassy personnel was for their safety, but that Washington would continue to pressure the Syrian government regime.

Nuland said that Ford continues as ambassador, even though he was no longer in the country. Poland would act as the protecting power for US interests in Damascus.

'We have suspended our diplomatic presence in Damascus; we have not broken diplomatic relations,' Nuland said.

The US would continue to work with international partners on Syria despite its 'disappointment' after the weekend failure of a UN Security Council resolution that was vetoed by Russia and China, Carney said.

Despite the UN vetoes, the effort to forge a resolution, other efforts to pressure Damascus and mounting international criticism of the regime 'are telltale signs that Assad's future is very limited at best,' he said.

'We continue to work with the international community to do everything we can to enhance the pressure on him, to make it clear to everyone that they should not want to place a bet on the Assad regime because that is a losing bet.'

Read more about US