On Wednesday, July 20, Syria announced that it was severing diplomatic relations with Kiev in “principle”.reciprocityafter Ukraine took the same step in late June after the Syrian government recognized the independence of the pro-Russian separatist republics.
A source in the Syrian Foreign Ministry, quoted by the official Sana news agency, said that “The Syrian Arab Republic has decided to sever diplomatic relations with Ukraine in accordance with the principle of reciprocity and in response to the decision of the Ukrainian government.“.
Ukraine breaks off relations first
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on June 29 that he was cutting diplomatic relations with Syria after the Damascus regime recognized the independence of the pro-Russian separatist republics of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, which Moscow has supported since 2014.There will be no more relations between Ukraine and SyriaVladimir Zelensky announced at that time.
Syria also announced in late June that it would recognize the independence of the pro-Russian separatist republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, becoming the first foreign country to do so. Until now, only Moscow had recognized the independence of these two Ukrainian regions in February, a few days before the start of the Russian invasion.
This is not the first time when Syria expresses its support for the territories whose independence Russia recognizes. In 2018, Damascus recognized the independence of the separatist regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in Georgia. Syria and Russia have been allies for decades, but ties have been significantly strengthened by the Syrian conflict and Moscow’s military intervention since 2015 alongside the regime of Bashar al-Assad.
Source: Le Figaro
