Syria lists 17 Western envoys as unwelcome

Syria branded 17 diplomats, most of them American and European, as "persona non grata" (unwelcome) in response to a mass expulsion of Syrian envoys by Western capitals last week.But the foreign ministry said the government was still open to re-establishing ties with the diplomats, almost all of whom had already been recalled by their governments."The Syrian Arab Republic still believes in the importance of dialogue based on principles of equality and mutual respect," a ministry statement it said. "We hope the countries that initiated these steps will adopt those principles, which would allow relations to return to normal again."Syria has been mired in bloody conflict for over a year as security forces seek to crush a revolt against President Bashar Assad's rule.The United States, France, Britain, Canada, Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia, Bulgaria and Switzerland coordinated a move to expel Syrian diplomats in response to a massacre of 108 people in the city of Houla. Nearly half those killed were children.Click for full JPost coverageUN says it struggling to deliver aid in SyriaThe United Nations is struggling to deliver humanitarian aid to an estimated 1 million people in Syria because of visa delays and the difficulty in reaching areas ravaged by fighting, UN and European Union officials said on Tuesday."We have the feeling that we are running behind a train of increasing speed - the train of humanitarian suffering. So while some progress has been achieved, the needs are deepening by the day, there is a need to accelerate," Claus Sorensen, Director-General of the European Humanitarian Office ECHO, told Reuters.The UN is hosting the Syrian Humanitarian Forum, the third in a series, in Geneva to try to expand access to hungry, sick or wounded civilians in the country reeling from 15 months of an uprising against Assad.UN aid agencies have been largely shut out of Syria but have tried for months to launch a major aid operation. The plan was draw up after an assessment mission carried out with Syrian officials in March.Faysal Khabbaz Hamoui, Syria's ambassador to the UN in Geneva, attended the closed-door talks. Also present was Radhouane Nouicer, UN regional humanitarian coordinator, who has been negotiating better access with Syrian authorities since the last forum on April 20."It's true that Radhouane Nouicer has had very intense contacts with the Syrian government, and he is extracting positive news, but it simply doesn't go fast enough," Sorensen said in an interview before the meeting began."The main bottlenecks are visas for international aid workers, access to the different hotspots and the possibility to control the delivery of goods," Sorensen said.The UN's World Food Program (WFP) provided food supplies to 250,000 people in Syria as of mid-May and aims to reach 500,000 by mid-June, the latest WFP report said.Volunteers from the Syrian Red Crescent do the actual distributions of WFP family food baskets, which contain rice, bulgur, pasta, cooking oil, sugar and canned meat.

Syria lists 17 Western envoys as unwelcome

Move follows Western expulsion of Syrian diplomats following Houla massacre; United Nations struggling to deliver humanitarian aid to an estimated 1 million people in Syria.

Qatar invested over $65 million to manipulate US education

Investors eye Syria reconstruction

Syria lists 17 Western envoys as unwelcome

Move follows Western expulsion of Syrian diplomats following Houla massacre; United Nations struggling to deliver humanitarian aid to an estimated 1 million people in Syria.

See more on