The Syrian government has reached a deal to allow humanitarian workers into the country while at the same time announcing the expulsion of foreign diplomats. An agreement brokered Tuesday would mark the first authorized entry of international aid groups into Syria aside from the Red Cross. U.N. official John Ging said the deal marked an important first step.

John Ging: “Today marked a step of progress, in that there is now agreement with the Syrian government on the scale, scope and modality for humanitarian response in Syria moving forward. So the discussions have come to a point of conclusion on the need for scaling up and how we will do that. Whether this is a breakthrough or not will be evident in the coming days and weeks, and it will be measured not in rhetoric, not in agreements, but in action on the ground.”

The announcement on aid workers came as the regime of Bashar al-Assad announced 17 foreign diplomats are no longer welcome inside Syria. Ambassadors from the United States, U.K., France and Turkey, as well as embassy staffers from a number of other countries, have been ordered to leave immediately. The move came days after the United States and 12 other countries expelled Syrian diplomats following the massacre of civilians in Houla.