Washington: Washington informed the Syrian mission in New York, in a memorandum delivered through the United Nations, of its change in legal status from a permanent mission of a UN member state to a mission of a government not recognized by the United States.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, the memorandum also included the cancellation of visas granted to members of the mission from the G1 category, designated for diplomats accredited to the United Nations and whose governments are recognized in the host country, to the G3 category, which is granted to foreign nationals eligible for a visa by the United Nations, but whose governments are not recognized by the United States.

For its part, the Syrian mission informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Damascus of the contents of the US memorandum, stating that it: “includes an explicit and direct declaration that the United States of America does not recognize the current Syrian transitional government, and similar steps may be followed by non-recognition by other countries that share some of the US administration’s concerns.”