On Monday (December 30th), the newly appointed Syrian Foreign Minister met with the Ukrainian Foreign Minister in Damascus, expressing Syria’s desire to establish a “strategic partnership” with Kyiv. Ukraine, in turn, promised to provide more food aid to Syria.
The new Syrian Foreign Minister, Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, stated during the meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha that “we will establish strategic partnerships at the political, economic, and social levels with Ukraine, and build scientific partnerships.”
Al-Shibani added, “The Syrian people and Ukrainian people have similar experiences, as we have both endured 14 years of hardship.” Clearly, he drew parallels between Syria’s cruel civil war from 2011 to 2024 and the Russia-Ukraine war following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
On the same day, Sybiha also met with Syria’s new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa. Sybiha pledged that Ukraine would provide more food assistance to Syria. The 20 batches of flour aid previously sent by Ukraine are expected to arrive in Syria on Tuesday (December 31st).
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced last Friday that as part of the “Ukrainian Food” initiative, a humanitarian aid program in collaboration with the UN World Food Programme, Ukraine will dispatch the first batch of food aid to Syria, including 500 tons of wheat flour.
Russia is a staunch ally of the ousted former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and has granted him political asylum. Moscow stated that it is in contact with the new government in Damascus, including negotiations on the future status of Russia’s military facilities in Syria.
Ukraine is a global producer and exporter of grains and oilseeds, traditionally exporting wheat and corn to Middle Eastern countries. However, Syria imported food from Russia during the Assad era, meaning Ukraine’s food supply did not include Syria previously.
In early December, Russian and Syrian sources told Reuters that Russia had suspended wheat supplies to Syria due to uncertainties surrounding the new government in Damascus and payment delays.
Russia had previously used complex financial and logistical arrangements to supply wheat to Syria to bypass Western sanctions on Moscow and Damascus.
In early December, Islamist anti-government armed group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, led by al-Sharaa, entered Damascus, overthrowing the Assad regime. This has left the future of Russia’s Hmeimim military base and Tartous naval facilities in Syria uncertain.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has indicated that the status of Russian military bases will be a key issue in negotiations with the new leadership in Damascus.
Al-Sharaa had stated earlier this month that Syria’s relationship with Russia should serve mutual interests. In an interview published on Sunday (29th), Al-Sharaa mentioned that Syria and Russia have shared strategic interests, hinting at reconciliation, though he did not elaborate further.