Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem 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.

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. He became foreign minister in 2006 and deputy prime minister in 2012.