Syria ending diplomatic relations with Ukraine - news agency

DUBAI. July 20 (Interfax) - Syria is severing diplomatic relations with Ukraine in response to the same step taken by Kyiv, the Syrian state news agency SANA said on Wednesday.

"The Syrian Arab Republic decided to rupture diplomatic relations with Ukraine in response to the Ukrainian government's decision in this regard," a Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesperson told SANA.

"Ukraine actually ended its relations with Syria starting in 2018" when it refused to extend Syrian diplomats' visas, thus causing the Syrian embassy in Kyiv to suspend operations, the spokesperson said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on June 30 that Ukraine was breaking off diplomatic relations with Syria after the Syrian authorities officially recognized the independence and sovereignty of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics.