In response to Kyiv’s identical action, Syria, a strong ally of Russia, has declared it is formally severing diplomatic ties with Ukraine.
According to the norm of reciprocity, the Syrian Arab Republic has decided to dissolve diplomatic ties with Ukraine as per the statement released by the Syrian foreign ministry on Wednesday.
After Syria recognized the eastern Ukraine breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, which receive support from Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared Kyiv would end relations with it late last month.
“There will no longer be relations between Ukraine and Syria,” Zelenskyy said at the time.
According to the Syrian foreign ministry, Ukraine first strained ties by refusing to renew the residence permits of its diplomatic staff members in Kyiv, making it hard for them to do their jobs.
The Syrian embassy had suspended operations “as a result of the hostile attitudes of the Ukrainian government.”
The announcement was made on Wednesday, a day after the leaders of Russia, Iran, and Turkey met in Tehran for a summit. Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad is currently in Tehran meeting with Iranian officials.
Russian President Putin spoke with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan about the conflict in Syria during his second trip overseas since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.
