Kerry Announces U.S. Representative to Syrian Opposition
|
Version 0 of 1. WASHINGTON — Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday named Daniel Rubinstein, a senior foreign service official with long experience in the Middle East, as a new special envoy for Syria. Mr. Rubinstein will fill the position vacated by Robert S. Ford, who retired last month. Mr. Rubinstein’s appointment comes as the conflict, which has already killed an estimated 140,000 people, is entering its fourth year. Mr. Rubinstein is fluent in Arabic and has served in Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Tunisia and Israel, among other assignments. He is expected to travel to the Middle East later this month. “The demands of the Syrian people who marked en masse in 2011 were simple: freedom and dignity,” Mr. Rubinstein said in a message to the Syrian people on Monday. “The answer from the government was clear and merciless. Assad will go to any length to maintain power.” His appointment comes at a challenging time for American policy on Syria. Two rounds of peace talks in Geneva have failed to make any headway and a third round has not been scheduled. Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, have made gains on the battlefield drawing on arms and political support from Russia and Iran, and the international community has made little progress in opening aid corridors to towns and cities besieged by Syrian forces. |