Relations between

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

have existed since 1992, except for a two-year period from 2022 to 2024 when they were severed following

Ba'athist Syria Ba'athist Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic (SAR), was the Syrian state between 1963 and 2024 under the One-party state, one-party rule of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region, Syrian regional branch of the Ba'ath Party (Syri ...

's recognition of the Russian-occupied

Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; ; ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin, and Stalino, is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine located on the Kalmius River in Donetsk Oblast, which is currently occupied by Russia as the capita ...

and

Luhansk Luhansk (, ; , ), also known as Lugansk (, ; , ), is a city in the Donbas in eastern Ukraine. As of 2022, the population was estimated to be making Luhansk the Cities in Ukraine, 12th-largest city in Ukraine. Luhansk served as the administra ...

regions. Relations were reestablished after the collapse of the Assad regime. The Ukrainian embassy in

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

currently protects Ukrainian interests in Syria.

History

Ba'athist Syria

Syria recognized the

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

of Ukraine on 28 December 1991. The countries established diplomatic relations on 31 March 1992. With the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011,

became even closer politically to the

Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. Due to Ba'athist Syria's recognition of the

Russian occupation of Crimea On 27 February 2014, Little green men (Russo-Ukrainian War), unmarked Russian soldiers were deployed to the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula in order to wrest control of it from Ukraine, starting the Russo-Ukrainian War. * * * * * * * This military o ...

in 2014, bilateral relations were frozen. Citing human rights violations by the government of

Bashar al-Assad Bashar al-Assad (born 11September 1965) is a Syrian politician, military officer and former dictator Sources characterising Assad as a dictator: who served as the president of Syria from 2000 until fall of the Assad regime, his government ...

against Syrian civilians, Ukraine closed its embassy in

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

in 2016, and in 2018, ordered the closure of the Syrian embassy in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

. On 29 June 2022, Ba'athist Syria recognized the independence of the

and

Luhansk People's Republic The Luhansk People's Republic (LPR; , ) is a disputed territory administered as a republic of Russia in the occupied parts of eastern Ukraine's Luhansk Oblast, with its capital in Luhansk. The LPR was proclaimed by Russian-backed paramilitar ...

s from Ukraine, after which on 30 June 2022, Ukraine severed relations with Syria. Ba'athist Syria formally broke its diplomatic ties to Ukraine on 20 July 2022, citing the principle of reciprocity.

Post-Ba'athist Syria

After the fall of the al-Assad regime in December 2024, Ukraine urged the international community to work together to support lasting peace in Syria and offered humanitarian aid through the Grain From Ukraine program. President

Volodymyr Zelenskyy Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy (born 25 January 1978) is a Ukrainian politician and former entertainer who has served as the sixth and current president of Ukraine since 2019. He took office five years after the start of the Russo-Ukraini ...

stated he was ready to support the

Syrian transitional government The Syrian transitional government () is the current provisional government of Syria, formed on 29 March 2025 under President Ahmed al-Sharaa. It succeeded the Syrian caretaker government headed by Mohammed al-Bashir. The government was ...

. Later that month, Zelenskyy confirmed that 500 metric tons of wheat flour had been sent to Syria as part of his country's humanitarian Grain From Ukraine program. On 30 December 2024, Ukraine's top diplomat met with Syria's de facto leader,

Ahmed al-Sharaa Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa (born 29 October 1982) also known by his ''nom de guerre'' Abu Mohammad al-Julani, is a Syrian politician and former rebel commander serving as the president of Syria since January 2025. He previously served as the coun ...

, in Damascus. The high-level Ukrainian delegation included Ukraine's

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

Andrii Sybiha Andrii Ivanovych Sybiha (Андрій Іванович Сибіга; born 1 February 1975) is a Ukrainian statesman, diplomat, and jurist who became the Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine and is currently the Minister of Forei ...

, the Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food, Vitaliy Koval, and the Special Representative of the President of Ukraine. Later that day, Ukraine opened an honorary consulate in Damascus. Sybiha led the flag-raising ceremony alongside Honorary Consul General Tamer Al-Tounsi, a Ukrainian-Syrian entrepreneur, and members of the Ukrainian community, whom he thanked for preserving the Ukrainian language and culture. During the meeting, Syria's newly appointed Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaybani expressed interest in building "strategic partnerships" with Ukraine, emphasizing mutual sovereignty and diplomatic representation. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Sybiha discussed the potential for strengthening Ukrainian-Syrian relations and Ukraine’s role in Syria’s food security despite the ongoing conflict with Russia. Sybiha also criticized the Russian and Assad regimes, stating that the removal of Russian forces from Syria would contribute to stability in the Middle East and Africa. In a related statement, Syria's al-Sharaa acknowledged the country's strategic ties with Russia, citing Russian-supplied arms and expertise in infrastructure, and opposed any calls for a complete Russian withdrawal. On 2 January 2025, Ukrainian President

announced plans to re-establish diplomatic relations with Syria.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Syria-Ukraine relations

History

Ba'athist Syria

Post-Ba'athist Syria

See also

References