Syria’s foreign minister Walid Muallem dies: state TV

Syria’s foreign minister, Walid Muallem, died Monday at dawn at the age of 79, the government announced on state television.

The veteran diplomat, who had been foreign minister since 2006, started his career as a diplomat in 1964.

The state news agency SANA carried an official government announcement but did not specify the cause of death.

Since 2012, a year after Syria’s deadly conflict started, he was also made deputy foreign minister.

In press conferences, he was known for his mocking stances against the West, whom he accused of conspiring to start the conflict.