Turkish ambassador among 17 declared personae non gratae DAMASCUS – Syria declared diplomats of 17 Western states and Turkey as personae non gratae Tuesday as Russia and China, which have stalled Western-led UN moves against Damascus, began talks focused on the crisis. The foreign ministry said it made the move against the ambassadors of the United States, Britain, France and Turkey, among others, in response to the expulsion of its own diplomats, in the aftermath of last month's Houla massacre. “Some countries have informed our diplomatic missions and our embassies' staff that they are unwelcome,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdessi said in a statement. He said Damascus has decided to take a “reciprocal measure” against ambassadors from the US, Britain, Turkey, Switzerland, France, Italy and Spain. A number of French, German, Canadian, Bulgarian and Belgian diplomats also are affected, Makdessi said. Among those listed were diplomats from Turkey, which has become an outspoken critic of President Bashar Al-Assad's crackdown and has given haven to army defectors. The foreign ministry said the ambassador and all the staff at Turkey's embassy in Damascus were unwelcome.
