Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, a top diplomat and staunch defender of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's violent crackdown on peaceful protesters that soon deteriorated into civil war, died on Monday.

The 79-year-old had suffered from poor health and heart problems during the last years of his life, although there were no immediate details on the cause of his death.

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Al-Moallem, who served as ambassador to Washington for nine years starting in 1990 during Syria's peace talks with Israel, was a close confidante of Assad. The Ba'ath party member became known for his hard-line position against the opposition during the uprising that began as part of the so-called Arab Spring. He became foreign minister in 2006 and deputy prime minister in 2012.

"He was known for his honorable patriotic positions," the government said in a statement, adding that he died at dawn and would be buried later on Monday in Damascus. He is survived by his wife, Sawsan Khayat and three children, Tarek, Shatha and Khaled. 

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He also oversaw his country warming up to Iran and Russia, which have supported Assad's rule and helped him to regain most of the territory he once lost to insurgents.

During the conflict, he often held news conferences in Damascus detailing the Syrian government's position. He was also known for mocking the opposition, which he said was part of a Western conspiracy against Syria for its anti-Israel stances.

A multinational career

Born to a Sunni Muslim family in Damascus in 1941, al-Moallem attended public schools in Syria and later traveled to Egypt, where he studied at Cairo University, graduating in 1963 with a bachelor's degree in economics. 

He started working with the foreign ministry in 1964, and opened the Syrian Embassy in Tanzania as his first mission.

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In 1966 he moved to work in the Syrian Embassy in the Saudi city of Jeddah, and a year later he moved to the Syrian Embassy in Madrid. In 1972, he headed the Syrian mission to London and moved to Romania in 1975, where he spent five years as ambassador.

Al-Moallem was appointed Syria's ambassador to Washington in 1990 and spent nine years in the United States. 

The diplomat's last public appearance was at the opening of an international refugee conference last Wednesday in Damascus, where he appeared to be in ill health. The following day, he did not attend the closing ceremony of the event, which was co-hosted with Russia.

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lc/msh (AP, Reuters)