MOSCOW, July 4. /TASS/. After recognizing the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR), Damascus is looking at opening its diplomatic missions there, Syria Ambassador to Russia Riyad Haddad said in an interview with TASS.

According to the Syrian diplomat, Damascus has expressed its readiness to build and strengthen relations with the Donbass republics on the basis of mutual respect and common interests. "We are looking at practical steps to open embassies and exchange diplomatic missions, and at coordinating actions on the basis of the sides’ interests," he said.

The Syrian ambassador recalled that Syrian President Bashar Assad had expressed readiness to recognize the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) back on December 21, 2021, when a Russian parliamentary delegation that included DPR delegates visited Damascus.

"It was decided to build relations with it (the DPR - TASS) based on the fact that the Ukrainian crisis is a problem created by Western countries led by the United States in a bid to divide the peoples and undermine Russia’s national security. Counteracting the West’s policy is a shared interest for all nations standing against its hegemony. And it is necessary to use all possible means to counteract this hegemony," Haddad stressed.

On June 29, a Syrian foreign ministry spokesman said that Syria had made a decision to recognize independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republic (DPR and LPR). The ministry said that contacts would be established with the republics to agree the parameters of ties, including issues of the establishment of diplomatic relations.