BEIRUT — Syria’s Foreign Ministry said today that the country’s former ambassador to Iraq should be punished after his defection to the opposition seeking to overthrow President Bashar Assad.

In a statement reported by Syria’s state news agency, the ministry said Nawaf Fares had been “relieved of his duties” and should face “legal and disciplinary accountability.”

Fares announced his defection in a video released Wednesday, saying he was siding with “the revolution” against Assad.

He is the highest profile diplomat to defect in the uprising and the second prominent figure to leave the regime in a week, suggesting some cracks in Assad’s regime are appearing at senior levels although the core of Assad’s regime has remained loyal despite growing international pressure.

Brig. Gen. Manaf Tlass, an Assad confidant and son of a former defense minister, fled Syria last week, but has not spoken publicly and he does not appear to have joined the rebel side.