Ukrainian delegation meets with new Syrian leader in Damascus
Фото: Фейсбук / Andrij Sybiha
A Ukrainian delegation led by Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha arrived in Damascus to meet with Syria's new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Syrian television, Al Arabiya, and Reuters reported that.
According to the agency, after the overthrow of the Bashar al-Assad regime, the de facto leader of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, and Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani are meeting with a Ukrainian delegation in Damascus on December 30.
Photo: Reuters
The first to spread information about the Ukrainian delegation's visit to Damascus to meet with leader Ahmed al-Sharaa was the Al Arabia publication on the X social network, which cited its own sources.
Later, a Syrian television correspondent reported that the delegation led by Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha met with Ahmed al-Sharaa.
It is noted that the high-level Ukrainian delegation, in addition to the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, included:
- the Minister of Agriculture,
- the Special Representative of the President of Ukraine.
At this time, no further information is available.
It should be noted that diplomatic relations between Ukraine and Syria were first established in 1992.
However, in 2022, Ukraine announced the severance of diplomatic relations (without severing consular relations) with Syria.
It should be noted that the Ukrainian side severed relations with this country because Syria recognized the "independence" of the Russian-controlled pseudo-republics of the "LPR" and "DPR."
The Syrian ministry stated that the Ukrainian government had actually severed relations with Syria since 2018. Therefore, Syria also decided to sever diplomatic relations with Ukraine on the principle of reciprocity.
However, after the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime as a result of the rebel offensive in Syria, Ukraine has started talking about the possibility of restoring diplomatic relations with Syria.
As the spokesman for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Heorhiy Tykhyi, recently stated, Ukraine has established contact with the new Syrian authorities and is ready to restore diplomatic relations, particularly if the new government changes the decision of the Assad regime, which recognized the violation of Ukraine's territorial integrity.
For reference:
In recent events, a group of rebels under the leadership of the Islamist organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham initiated an attack on Aleppo, the second-largest city in Syria. The regime of Bashar al-Assad, with the backing of Russian forces, attempted to halt the rebel offensive. However, Assad's military forces eventually declared their retreat from Aleppo. According to media sources, Russia has committed to providing swift aid to the Syrian army.
As stated by Ukraine's intelligence agency, Russian forces in Syria were enduring significant casualties. In response to the losses and resulting turmoil within the ranks, the Kremlin decided to remove General Sergey Kisiel from his role as commander of the Russian group operating in the Arab Republic. General Kisiel's previous record of strategic failures during the large-scale invasion of Ukraine contributed to his dismissal.
Later, Ukrainian intelligence reported that the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime forced Moscow to withdraw warships from the base in Tartus hastily.
The Russian state agencies TASS and RIA Novosti also reported that Assad and his family were in Moscow, and Russia had granted them asylum.
The Syrian opposition announced the creation of a civilian transitional government after the fall of the Assad regime.
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