Bashar Al-Assad
Bashar Al-AssadReuters

Syria’s President Bashar Al-Assad on Sunday named Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad to the post of Foreign Minister, The Associated Press reports.

Mekdad replaces Walid Al-Muallem, who passed away at the age of 79 last week.

Like his predecessor, Mekdad is a career diplomat who has been a close confidant of Assad and a harsh critic of the opposition during Syria’s nearly 10-year conflict.

Mekdad has represented Syria in conferences throughout the world since becoming deputy foreign minister in 2006, noted AP.

Like Muallem, Mekdad has expressed hostile positions toward Israel. In 2017, he threatened Israel with “appropriate steps” following an air strike in Syria attributed to the Jewish state.

Muallem in 2012 accused Israel of being behind the ongoing unrest in his country, claiming the Jewish state plotted to overthrow the Assad regime.

He had in the past warned that Syria has sufficient capacities to respond to Israeli threats thanks to Russia providing the country with the S-300 air defense systems.