Ukraine promises more shipments of food help as Syria considers “strategic” ties with the country

As Kyiv seeks to forge connections with the new Islamist leadership in Damascus in the face of diminishing Russian influence, Syria’s new foreign minister told his Ukrainian colleague on Monday that Syria wishes for “strategic partnerships” with Ukraine.

President Bashar al-Assad was granted political shelter by Russia, which was a strong friend of the overthrown leader. Regarding the future of Russian military installations in Syria, Moscow has stated that it is in communication with the new government in Damascus.

Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, Syria’s recently appointed foreign minister, told Ukraine’s Andrii Sybiha, “We will have scientific partnerships as well as strategic partnerships on the political, economic, and social levels.”

He went on to say, “Certainly, the Syrian people and the Ukrainian people have the same experience and the same suffering that we endured over 14 years,” seemingly comparing Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian territory, which led to its full-scale invasion in 2022, to Syria’s horrific civil war that raged from 2011 to 24.

Following the anticipated arrival of 20 shipments of flour on Tuesday, Sybiha, who also met with Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria’s new de facto ruler, in Damascus on Monday, stated that Ukraine would send additional food aid supplies to Syria.

As part of Kyiv’s humanitarian “Grain from Ukraine” program in collaboration with the United Nations World Food Program, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said last Friday that Ukraine had sent its first shipment of food aid to Syria, which included 500 metric tons of wheat flour.

Hope has become hard to come by in 2024.

SQUEEZING THE RUSSIAN INFLUENCE

Ukraine, a major producer and supplier of grains and oilseeds, has historically supplied wheat and corn to Middle Eastern nations, but not to Syria, which received food from Russia throughout the Assad administration.

Russian and Syrian sources informed Reuters in early December that Russian wheat supplies to Syria have been halted due to payment delays and uncertainties surrounding the new Damascus government. To get over Western sanctions placed on both Moscow and Damascus, Russia used intricate financial and logistical arrangements to supply wheat to Syria.

Russia’s military bases in Syria, including the Tartous naval station and the Hmeimim airbase in Latakia, are in doubt after Assad was overthrown by al-Sharaa’s Islamist organization, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

Negotiations with the new administration in Damascus would focus on the status of Russia’s military outposts, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

This month, al-Sharaa stated that Syria and Russia should have a mutually beneficial relationship. Although he did not provide further details, he struck a conciliatory tone in an interview released on Sunday when he stated that Syria and Russia shared strategic interests.