Syria has announced that it is expelling 17 diplomats, most of them from the U.S. and Europe.
The Foreign Ministry announcement on June 5 comes days after a number of Western countries expelled Syrian diplomats in response to the massacre of 108 people in Houla in May.
The list of diplomats declared unwelcome by Syria includes the ambassadors of the United States, Britain, France and Turkey, as well as embassy staff members from Canada, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Bulgaria and Germany.
Almost all of the Western envoys have already been recalled by their governments in protest of the Syrian regime’s violence against protesters who have revolted against President Bashar al-Assad’s rule.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry said the government “still believes in the importance of dialogue” and was open to re-establishing Western ties.
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