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.

We consider this decision an unfriendly act against Ukraine, encroaching on its sovereignty and territorial integrity, 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 occupation 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, following Article 2 of the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. The Ukrainian side is also initiating the procedure of imposing a trade embargo on Syria and other sanctions on Syrian legal entities and individuals.

Our position is clear - we react as harshly as possible to any attempts to undermine the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and protect national interests in all available ways, including on the diplomatic front

Dmytro Kuleba

In connection with the crimes of the regime of Bashar Assad against the Syrian people, the Ukrainian side closed the Ukrainian embassy in Damascus in 2016, and in 2018 ordered to close of the Syrian embassy in Kyiv. The Ukrainian embassy in Lebanon protects the interests of Ukrainians in Syria.