Switzerland has appointed a new chargé d’affaires for Syria, the Syrian regime’s news agency SANA reported on Tuesday.

Marion Weichelt Krupski was welcomed by the Syrian regime’s Foreign Minister Faisal Al-Mekdad during her visit to Syria to present her credentials. However, she will not remain in the country and perform her role as a non-resident.

Most European Union member states severed ties with the Syrian regime after it brutally cracked down on peaceful pro-democracy protests in 2011. Only the Czech Republic maintained a full embassy.

Over 500,000 Syrians have been killed and millions more displaced as a result of the conflict that erupted that year, mainly as a result of the regime’s bombing of civilian areas.

Switzerland, which is not a member of the EU, closed its embassy in Damascus in 2012 for “security reasons”.

In her meeting with Mekdad, Krupski reiterated Switzerland’s neutral stance on the Syrian conflict and said her country would focus on humanitarian aid to Syrians.