Syria regime officially recognises Luhansk, Donetsk republics: state media

The Syrian regime has officially recognised the so-called breakaway republics of Luhansk and Donetsk in Ukraine, the Syrian state agency SANA reported on Wednesday.

Official sources affiliated with the regime’s foreign ministry proclaimed to recognise the "independence and sovereignty" of both breakaway "republics", that have been formed by pro-Russian separatists in the aftermath of the 2014 Ukrainian revolution.

"Applying to the common will and desire to establish relations in all fields, the Syrian Arab Republic decided to recognise the independence and sovereignty of the Lugansk People’s Republic and the Donetsk Peoples Republic", an official source for the Foreign and Expatriates Ministry said.

The Syrian regime announced that Syria recognizes the independence and sovereignty of Russian-backed eastern #Ukrainian breakaway states Donetsk and Luhansk.

— Asaad Sam Hanna (@AsaadHannaa) June 29, 2022

The source added that "communications will be held with both countries to agree on frameworks for enhancing relations, including establishing diplomatic relations in accordance with the well-known rules".

Both states have been described as quasi, puppet states and both have been central to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February this year.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian government has designated both the Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics as terrorist organisations.

The statement makes Syria the second official country to recognise the breakaway republics, with Russia becoming the first UN member to formally acknowledge the separatists regions as "independent" states. Moscow recognised the Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics located in eastern Ukraine on 21 February this year, three days before it invaded its eastern neighbour.

Dictator Bashar Al-Assad had called for the recognition of the Russian-backed "republics" earlier this month, the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR)’s head Denis Pushilin said on Telegram.

Assad reportedly met with with the DPR’s self-declared Minister of Foreign Affairs Natalia Nikonorova and expressed his regime’s support for Russia’s fight against the US and its NATO allies. 

During the meeting, Assad announced that "the official start of the procedures" of recognising Donetsk.

The Syrian regime is a staunch ally of Russia, with Assad backing Moscow’s military aggression of Ukraine, calling it a "correction of history".

Meanwhile, Moscow has kept Assad propped up throughout more than a decade of civil war.

Both regimes have also been accused of committing a staggering number of war crimes against opposition figures; Russian forces have also carried out brutalities against Syrian civilians.

Since its February invasion of Ukraine, Russian forces have killed thousands of civilians, and displacing millions more in what has been described as one of the worst crises in recent European history.