The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine strongly condemns the decision of the Syrian Arab Republic to recognize the so-called “independence” of the temporarily occupied territories in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine.
We consider this decision to be an unfriendly act against Ukraine, an encroachment on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our state, and a gross violation of Ukrainian law, the UN Charter, and the fundamental norms and principles of international law. There is no doubt that the Syrian regime is trying to give pseudo-subjectivity to the Russian occupying administrations in Donetsk and Luhansk at the behest of its Kremlin curators.
In response to this unfriendly act, Ukraine declares the severance of diplomatic relations with Syria without the severance of consular relations, in accordance with Article 2 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations done in Vienna on 24 April 1963. The Ukrainian Side is also initiating the procedure of imposing a trade embargo on Syria, as well as imposing other sanctions on Syrian legal entities and individuals.
"Our position is clear - we respond as harshly as possible to any attempts to undermine the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and we protect national interests by all available means, including on the diplomatic front," emphasized Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
In connection with the crimes of the regime of Bashar Al Assad against the Syrian people, the Ukrainian side had already closed the Embassy of Ukraine in Damascus in 2016 and ordered the closing of the Embassy of Syria in Ukraine in 2018. Protection of the interests of Ukrainians in Syria is carried out by the Embassy of Ukraine in Lebanon.