International recognition of the Syrian National Council

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The Syrian National Council (SNC) [1] is recognised by 6 UN members, the Republic of Kosovo and the European Union as a legitimate representative of the Syrian people in the midst of the Syrian civil war, with three of those being permanent members of the Security Council.

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In November 2012, the council agreed to unify with several other opposition groups such as the NCCDC and the Damascus Declaration to form the Syrian National Coalition. The SNC had 22 out of 60 seats of the Syrian National Coalition. [2] [3] [4] In January 2014, the Council withdrew from the Syrian National Coalition in protest at the decision of the coalition to attend the Geneva talks. [5]

International standing and recognition (2011-2024)

The Syrian National Council has asked for recognition within the international community, but it also denies that it seeks to play the role of a government-in-exile. [6] In 27 February 2012, the Syrian National Council is currently recognised or supported in some capacity by 17 UN member states, with three of those being permanent members of the Security Council, France, [7] the United States, [8] the United Kingdom, [9] Spain, Bulgaria, Tunisia, Egypt and also Libya's National Transitional Council, [10] who announced that it had been in talks with the Syrian National Council and is considering to give weapons, volunteer fighters and training via the National Liberation Army to the Free Syrian Army. [11] It has received support of the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. [12] The Foreign Ministers of seven UN member states, notably Russia and the People's Republic of China, have met with representatives of the council, but have not recognised or supported it officially in any capacity nor have they, excepting Australia and Austria, explicitly rejected the Assad government.

Map of states that have/have not recognised the Syrian National Council .mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{} Syria States that have diplomatically recognised the SNC as the sole legitimate government of Syria States that officially support/recognise the SNC as a partner in dialogue or as an opposition group States that unofficially support the SNC as partner in dialogue States with informal relations with the SNC States that have not expressed support for the SNC CountriesRecognizingSNC.svg
Map of states that have/have not recognised the Syrian National Council
  Syria
  States that have diplomatically recognised the SNC as the sole legitimate government of Syria
  States that officially support/recognise the SNC as a partner in dialogue or as an opposition group
  States that unofficially support the SNC as partner in dialogue
  States with informal relations with the SNC
  States that have not expressed support for the SNC

UN member states

RankEntityDate/Status of recognition Notes
1Flag of France.svg  France [7] Recognised on 21 November 2011
(as legitimate interlocutor), on 13 November 2012 (as sole legitimate representative) [13] 		"The Syrian National Council is the legitimate interlocutor with which we will continue to work," French foreign minister Alain Juppé stated on 21 November 2011.
2Flag of Spain.svg  Spain [14] [15] Recognised on 23 November 2011
(as representative of Syrian people)		Spanish Foreign Minister Trinidad Jiménez confirmed that the Spanish government will look to SNC to discuss issues concerning Syria and that the channels of dialogue with the Syrian government have been closed. Jiménez said "Spain support for the SNC as the main interlocutor of the Syrian people, who are seeking freedom and democracy".
3Flag of the United States.svg  United States [16] Recognised on 5 December 2011
(as legitimate representative)		The US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, deemed the Syrian National Council as a “leading and legitimate representative of Syrians seeking a peaceful democratic transition,” and that the United States was “committed to helping... make this transition.” [17]
4Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom [18] Recognised on 24 February 2012
(As legitimate representative)		Minister for the Middle East Alistair Burt met SNC members in Paris on 12 October 2011. Burt stated, “The establishment of the Syrian National Council marked a positive step in bringing together a broad range of Syrian opposition representatives." [19] The following month, Foreign Secretary William Hague met with representatives of the SNC and National Coordination Body on 21 November. Speaking about the meeting, Hague remarked, “We will continue our contacts with the Syrian opposition. I’ve appointed a senior official to lead our liaison and coordination with them... The message for the regime is that the rest of the world is talking to the Syrian opposition, that we are looking to a different future for Syria, for the Syrian people to decide for themselves what, what we want is what so many people in Syria want, a free and democratic future for the people of Syria. And I think the Assad regime will find that more and more Governments around the world are willing to work with the opposition to step up the level of their contacts as we have done today as part of the increasing pressure on this regime and its completely unacceptable behaviour.” After a meeting with the Friends of Syria in Tunis, William Hague said the UK will recognise the Syrian National Council as a legitimate representative of the Syrian people [20]
5Flag of Albania.svg  Albania [21] Recognised on 1 April 2012
(as representative of Syrian people)		During the meeting on 1 April 2012 Friends of Syria in Istanbul the Minister of foreign Affairs of the Republic of Albania, Edmond Haxhinasto underlined the support of the Albanian Government for the Syrian democratic opposition represented by the Syrian National Council, as well as its war for freedom, human dignity and progress. [21]
6Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark [22] Recognised on 9 December 2012
(as legitimate representative)
7Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey [12] Rejection of Assad government [12]
Formal relations from 14 December 2011 [23]
Verbal Support		On 15 November 2011, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Prime Minister of Turkey, has expressed his support for the Syrian National Council, saying that "Turkey had lost confidence in the leadership of Bashar al-Assad" and that "the Syrian leader will pay the price sooner or later". [12] On 14 December 2011, SNC opened its first office in Istanbul. [23] Erdoğan has been trying to "cultivate a favorable relationship with whatever government would take the place of Assad." [24]
8Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada [25] Rejection of Assad government
Informal relations		Foreign Minister John Baird, in a 16 December speech in the House of Commons stated, ""Assad will fall. The government will fall. It's only a matter of time". Later that day, Baird met with a Syrian National Council delegation led by Council President Burhan Ghalioun. The council expressed its gratitude for Canada's assistance to the SNC, including international lobbying for new UN Security Council resolutions and its rejection of the Assad government. Discussions were held on Canada's participation in humanitarian assistance during a transitional period and in the rebuilding of a post-Assad Syria. [26]
9Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands Verbal support
Rejection of Assad government
Informal relations		The Syrian National Council is being openly, verbally supported by the Netherlands. In March 2012, the Dutch foreign minister, Rosenthal, had a meeting in the Netherlands with representatives of the Syrian National Council, emphasised that President Assad should step down and that the Syrian opposition should unite. [27]
10Flag of Germany.svg  Germany Verbal support
Rejection of Assad government
Informal relations		In a 6 August 2011 interview, Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle remarked that "I don't believe that Assad has a political future ahead of him which is supported by the Syrian people". The German foreign ministry is reportedly in talks with the Syrian opposition. [28] In November 2011, a Syrian National Council delegation met with Westerwelle and other high level foreign policy decision makers to brief them on developments in Syria. Westerwelle said "we cannot remain quiet to the human rights violations in Syria.” He then lauded the efforts of the National Council and discussed future cooperation with the SNC regarding the transition phase to democracy. [29]
11Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium [30] Verbal support
Informal relations		A group of Belgian Foreign Ministry officials, headed by Foreign Minister Didier Reynders met with a delegation of the Syrian National Council on 5 January 2012. At the meeting, Reynders informed the delegates that he would to refer the SNC requests for the establishment of a European assistance fund for the Syrian people to the European Union and would work to "support the SNC's goals until they become a reality on the ground."
12Flag of Qatar.svg  Qatar [31] Rejection of Assad governmentThe UK newspaper, The Times reported that Qatar and Saudi Arabia are to begin funding the Syrian National Council and other armed groups fighting the Assad government. Prime Minister and foreign minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani visited the United Nations to formally present UN Security Council Ambassadors with a plan for Assad to step down and relinquish power to his vice-president in lieu of a transitional unity government. Speaking at a 10 March 2010 Arab ministerial meeting, Hamad advised the opposition to unify in order to "merge into one voice that expresses the aspirations of their people so that they can face the tyranny of the regime." Additionally, he called for recognition of the SNC as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people in his opening remarks. [32]
13Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia Informal relations
Rejection of Assad government		On 20 January 2012, Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd publicly rejected the Assad government in a joint press conference with French foreign Minister Alan Juppe. "Our view in Australia is that Assad must go." [33] On 24 January, Rudd met with UK foreign minister William Hague and announced that he had met with Burhan Ghalioun, the president of the SNC, in the previous week. [34]
14Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal [35] Informal relationsA Syrian National Council delegation, headed by Burhan Ghalioun, met on 3 January 2012 with Foreign Minister Paulo Portas in Lisbon. After a briefing on the current situation in Syria, Portas was requested by the delegation to formally reject the Assad government and to use Portugal's influence with Brazil to get the South American country to do the same.
15Flag of Norway.svg  Norway [36] Informal relationsA Syrian National Council delegation visited Oslo and met with foreign ministry officials, along with political and humanitarian groups, to promote its cause from 9–11 December 2012. The council delegation met with the foreign minister, whom had a reaction to their requests that the delegation reported as "generally positive."
16Flag of Russia.svg  Russia [37] Informal relationsThe Syrian National Council sent a delegation to Moscow to meet with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on 15 November 2011 in response to an official invitation. While in Moscow, the council met with high level Russian government officials, notably the Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia, Mikhail Bogdanov; and the Vice Chairman of the Russian Federation, Ilyas Umakhanov.
17Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China [38] Informal relationsA high-level SNC delegation visited Beijing on 10 May 2012 and met with the Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, the Deputy Foreign Minister and the Director of External Communication for the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. According to the SNC, Yang promised to "look into" issuing a permit for the SNC to open an official office in China.
18Flag of Japan.svg  Japan [39] Informal relationsOn 11 May 2012, a SNC Delegation visited the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and SNC President Burhan Ghalioun held discussions with Foreign Mninister Koichiro Gemba. Later, Ghalioun met with Parliamentary Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Ryuji Yamane and former UN Under Secretary General Yasushi Akashi. [40]
19Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden [41] Verbal support
Informal relations		Asked about recognising SNC, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt commented: "We are talking to them, as we are talking to a lot of other people who have the ability to influence events in Syria. We will be discussing that further today."
20Flag of Slovenia.svg  Slovenia [42] Formal recognition in January 2013Ambassador of the government of Syria was declared persona non-grata, and the SNC was declared the sole representative of the Syrian state.

Non-UN member states

RankEntityDate/Status of recognition Notes
1Flag of Kosovo.svg  Kosovo 23 August 2011On 23 August 2011 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kosovo with a statement said that "the government and the people of the Republic of Kosovo support the efforts of the Syrian people as they strive towards freedom and democracy". [43]

International organisations

International organisationPosition
Flag of Europe.svg  European Union (EU)On 10 October 2011, EU officially supported SNC and "welcomed their initiatives", but without recognition. [44] Later at a 27 February 2012 EU foreign Ministers meeting in Brussels, the EU formally recognised the Syrian National Council as "a legitimate representative of the Syrians seeking peaceful democratic change" in addition to announcing new sanctions against the Assad government. [45] The SNC welcomed the move in a 28 February 2012 press release. [46] On 2 March 2012, EU officially recognized the Syrian National Council as a legitimate representative of Syrian people.
Member states (5 / 27) Candidates (1 / 5)
Austria • Belgium • Bulgaria • Croatia • Cyprus • Czech Republic • Denmark  † • Estonia • Finland • France  † • Germany • Greece • Hungary • Ireland • Italy • Latvia • Lithuania • Luxembourg • Malta • Netherlands • Poland • Portugal • Romania • Slovakia • Slovenia  † • Spain  † • Sweden †
Candidates: Iceland • Montenegro • North Macedonia • Serbia • Turkey  †
 † – Have officially recognised the SNC in some capacity.
† United Kingdom   (Brexit) [47]
International Union for Muslim Scholars On 15 October 2011, Yusuf al-Qaradawi, president of IUMS recognised SNC as the sole representative of Syria. [48]

Political parties and legislatures

  • Flag of Algeria.svg  Algeria: On 14 November 2011, Abbassi Madani, president of Islamic Salvation Front in Algeria recognised the SNC as the sole representative of Syria. [49]
  • Flag of Bahrain.svg  Bahrain: On 7 March 2012, The Council of Representatives of Bahrain voted to request that the government recognize the Syrian National Council as the representative of the Syrian people. [50]
  • Flag of Egypt.svg  Egypt: On 11 October 2011, Democratic Alliance for Egypt has stated its support for the council as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people. [51]
  • Flag of Jordan.svg  Jordan: On 15 November 2011, Islamic Action Front, the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan, recognised the SNC. [52]
  • Flag of Kuwait.svg  Kuwait: On 28 October 2011, National Assembly of Kuwait requested the Kuwaiti government to recognise the SNC as the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people. [53] On 6 December, Kuwait's Emir Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah dissolved the assembly. [54] However, on 29 February, the next parliament voted 44-5 (including all cabinet members voting in favour) to approve a new non-binding resolution to request that the government recognise the SNC. [55]
  • Flag of Lebanon.svg  Lebanon: The opposition March 14th Alliance has praised the Syria National Council's "Open letter to the Lebanese people" of 26 January 2012. “The General Secretariat considers the SNC statement as a sign of hope and a courageous step that opens a new page in the Lebanese-Syrian ties based on the sovereignty and independence of both countries... March 14 looks forward to further communication with the SNC.” [56] In addition, the two largest organized parties forming the coalition have voiced positive reactions to the SNC communique:
    • Future Movement: Lebanon's largest opposition party reacted positively to the SNC's proposals to review all present Lebanese-Syrian agreements and demarcate the border between the two countries once in power. “The council’s brave step will pave the way for a new chapter of ties between Lebanon and Syria.. “These ties will properly reflect the fraternal relationship between the countries.. The movement voices its complete support for the Syrian people’s choices in its pursuit for freedom and democracy.” [57]
    • Lebanese Forces: Party chairman Samir Geagea remarked that "“The statement of the SNC is a new gateway to correct the ties between Lebanon and Syria.. What is more important is that the clauses of the statement be implemented.” Geagea went on to criticise the Lebanese government's handling of the Syrian Uprising, specifically noting that Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour is "not applying the policy of disassociating Lebanon from the Syrian crisis... How can the government match the policy of disassociation with the advocacies of Mansour defending the Syrian regime during the Arab League’s meeting on Syrian crisis?”. He called on the government to “take all the necessary measures to protect civilians” from rights violations by Syrian security authorities and requested that the cabinet "ask the Syrian government to apologise and put an end to the violations along the border, otherwise, it must resort to the UN Security Council.” [58]
  • Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan: On 19 October 2011, Jamaat-e-Islami in Pakistan recognised SNC and requested the Pakistani government and Islamic countries to do the same thing. [59]

UN member states that have withdrawn recognition

RankEntity Recognition Notes
1Flag of Egypt.svg  Egypt [60] Recognized on 24 February 2012
(As an opposition group)
Recognition cancelled in July 2013 [61] 		On 24 February 2012, on the heels of the inaugural Friends of Syria Group meeting in Tunis, Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr revealed that Cairo recognized all Syrian opposition factions. Relations with Syrian government normalized in 2013.
2Flag of Tunisia.svg  Tunisia Verbal support
Recognition cancelled in July 2015 [62] 		On 19 December 2011 Burhan Ghalioun announced that the new Tunisian government will officially recognise the council. [63] Relations with Syrian government normalized in 2023.
3Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia Informal relations
Verbal support
Recognition cancelled in August 2017 [64] 		On 22 January 2012, A SNC delegation met with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, who pledged "Saudi Arabia's support and commitment to stand by the Syrian people and to help alleviate their suffering in this crisis." [65] In a 27 January 2012 interview with the Kuwaiti Al-Rai newspaper, SNC Executive Council member Ahmad Ramadan reported that Prince Saud al-Faisal met a SNC delegation in Cairo the week previously. Saud informed them that Saudi Arabia will recognise the SNC as the "official representative of the Syrian people", at a yet unspecified date. [66] The UK newspaper, The Times reported that Qatar and Saudi Arabia are to begin funding the Syrian National Council and other armed groups fighting the Assad government. [31] Relations with Syrian government normalized in 2023. [67]
4Flag of Austria.svg  Austria [68] Informal relations
Recognition cancelled in 2021 [69] 		Vice Chancellor and Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Spindelegger met with SNC President Burhan Ghalioun on 9 December 2011. In a statement regarding the meeting, Spindelegger stated, "A regime that cracks down against its own people with inhumane violence has lost all its legitimacy. With his recent statements, President Assad has proven again that he is either a ruthless cynic or that he lives in a grotesque world of illusion. He must step down immediately, to finally allow for a peaceful transition to a new leadership“.
5Flag of Libya.svg  Libya [10] Recognised on 19 October 2011
(as legitimate authority)
Recognition cancelled in 2021 [70] 		"The National Transitional Council has decided after a meeting today to recognise the Syrian National Council as the sole legitimate government in Syria," NTC member Mussa al-Koni said on 10 October. Koni also announced the closure of the Syrian Embassy in Tripoli. [10] On 19 October, the NTC formally announced its recognition of the SNC as Syria's "legitimate authority". [71] The NTC promised the representatives of SNC to hand them over the embassy of Syria in Tripoli. [72]

The Libyan NTC also announced that it had been in talks with the Syrian National Council and was considering supplying weapons and volunteer fighters of the National Liberation Army to the Free Syrian Army. [11] Since 2021, relations of GNU with the Syrian government normalized.

6Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Informal relations [73] [74]
Verbal support
Rejection of Assad government
Relations with Syria normalized in 2024. [75] 		On 25 November 2011, Italian Foreign Minister, Giulio Terzi di Sant'Agata reiterated Italy's support to "organised opposition" in the shape of SNC. [73] On 11 December, Terzi met SNC's president Burhan Ghalioun and said Italy would intensify its contacts with SNC which grouped "an important segment" of the Syrian opposition.

Between 2017 and 2024, relations between Italy and the Syrian government normalized. [76] [77]

7Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria [78] Verbal support
Rejection of Assad government
Informal relations		Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolai Mladenov announced that the Syrian National Council "is an important partner in dialogue on the future of Syria".

Autonomous regions that have withdrawn recognition

UN member/observer states opposing recognition

RankEntityNotes
1Flag of Algeria.svg  Algeria [81]
2Flag of Angola.svg  Angola [82]
3Flag of Armenia.svg  Armenia [82]
4Flag of Belarus.svg  Belarus [81] [82]
5Flag of Bolivia.svg  Bolivia [81] [82]
6Flag of Burundi.svg  Burundi [81] [82]
7Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China [81] [82]
8Flag of the Comoros.svg  Comoros [82]
9Flag of the Republic of the Congo.svg  Congo [82]
10Flag of Cuba.svg  Cuba [81] [82]
11Flag of Egypt.svg  Egypt [83] Egypt–Syria relations, (Since 2013)
12Flag of Eritrea.svg  Eritrea [84]
13Flag of Iran.svg  Iran [81] [82] Iranian involvement in the Syrian civil war
14Flag of Iraq.svg  Iraq [81]
15Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Relations normalized in 2024.
16Flag of Kazakhstan.svg  Kazakhstan [82]
17Flag of Kyrgyzstan.svg  Kyrgyzstan [85] [82]
18Flag of Laos.svg  Laos [82]
19Flag of Libya.svg  Libya [81] [82] Normalized in 2021.
20Flag of Mali.svg  Mali [86]
21Flag of Mauritania.svg  Mauritania [87]
22Flag of Mozambique.svg  Mozambique [88]
23Flag of Myanmar.svg  Myanmar [81] [82]
24Flag of Nicaragua.svg  Nicaragua [81] [82]
25Flag of North Korea.svg  North Korea [81]
26Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan [82]
27Flag of Palestine.svg  Palestine [82]
28Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines [81]
29Flag of Russia.svg  Russia [81] [82] Russian involvement in the Syrian civil war
30Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia [ citation needed ]Normalized in 2023.
31Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa [82]
32Flag of South Sudan.svg  South Sudan [85]
33Flag of Sudan.svg  Sudan [89] [82]
34Flag of Syria.svg  Syria [81] [82]
35Flag of Tajikistan.svg  Tajikistan [82]
36Flag of Tunisia.svg  Tunisia [90] Normalized in 2023.
37Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg  United Arab Emirates [81] [82]
38Flag of Uzbekistan.svg  Uzbekistan [81] [82]
39Flag of Venezuela.svg  Venezuela [81] [82]
40Flag of Zimbabwe.svg  Zimbabwe [81] [82]

Non-UN member/observer states opposing recognition

RankEntityNotes
1Flag of the Republic of Abkhazia.svg  Abkhazia [91]
2Flag of South Ossetia.svg  South Ossetia

See also

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Suheir al-Atassi is a Syrian secular activist in the Syrian opposition, and co-vice-president of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces between November 2012 and December 2013. She has been called the "Lady of the Revolution" and is widely respected in secular and intellectual circles within the Syrian opposition structure. She had previously run the media wing of the banned Jamal Atassi Forum, which was named after her father, a founding member of the Ba'ath Party who later left and founded the Democratic Arab Socialist Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Authenticity and Development Front</span> Political groups opposed to Bashar al-Assad

The Syrian opposition, also known as the Syrian revolutionaries is an umbrella term for the groups that opposed the Assad regime in Syria. In July 2011, at the beginning of the Syrian civil war, defectors from the Syrian Arab Armed Forces formed the Free Syrian Army, a name that was later used by several armed factions during the conflict. In November 2012, political groups operating from abroad formed the Syrian National Coalition (SNC). In turn, the Coalition formed the Syrian Interim Government (SIG) which operated first as a government-in-exile and, from 2015, in certain zones of Syria. In 2017, the Islamist group Tahrir al-Sham, unaffiliated to the SNC, formed the Syrian Salvation Government (SSG) in the areas it controlled. Rebel armed forces during the civil war have included the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army, affiliated to the SIG, the Southern Operations Room and the Revolutionary Commando Army. Other groups that challenged Bashar al-Assad's rule during the civil war were the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, and the jihadist organization known as the Islamic State.

A number of states and armed groups have involved themselves in the Syrian civil war (2011–present) as belligerents. The main groups were the Syrian Arab Republic and allies, the Syrian opposition and allies, Al-Qaeda and affiliates, Islamic State, and the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geneva II Conference on Syria</span> International peace conference aimed at ending Syrian Civil War

The Geneva II Conference on Syria was a United Nations-backed international peace conference on the future of Syria with the aim of ending the Syrian Civil War, by bringing together the Syrian government and the Syrian opposition to discuss the clear steps towards a transitional government for Syria with full executive powers. The conference took place on 22 January 2014 in Montreux, on 23–31 January 2014 in Geneva (Switzerland), and again on 10–15 February 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saudi Arabia–Syria relations</span> Bilateral relations

Saudi Arabia–Syria relations refer to bilateral and economic relations between Saudi Arabia and Syria. Diplomatic ties between these two countries of the Middle East have long been strained by the major events in the region. Saudi Arabia has an embassy in Damascus, and Syria has an embassy in Riyadh. Both countries are members of the Arab League and share close cultural ties.

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