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The United States announced the closure of Syria\u2019s embassy in Washington on Tuesday and ordered its diplomatic staff to return to Damascus.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Daniel Rubinstein, the special envoy for Syria, said the embassy had already suspended consular services.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThis week marks the three-year anniversary of the Syrian revolution. For three years, Bashar al-Assad has refused to heed the call of the Syrian people to step aside,\u201d he said in a statement to reporters.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Rubinstein said the decision to close the embassy, as well as honorary consulates in Troy, Michigan, and Houston, Texas, was \u201cin consideration of the atrocities the Assad regime has committed against the Syrian people\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n He added: \u201cWe have determined it is unacceptable for individuals appointed by that regime to conduct diplomatic or consular operations in the United States.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n More than 150,000 people have died in the Syrian conflict, on both sides.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Attempts by Washington and Moscow to supervise a peace agreement have so far failed, and the prospects have significantly worsened with the deterioration of US-Russia relations over Ukraine.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n It is not known how many Syrian diplomatic staff worked in Washington, Troy and Houston. The mission in the capital is a large, red-brick mansion in Kalorama, an area that hosts many of Washington\u2019s embassies.<\/span><\/p>\n