Syria Seeks Strategic Alliance with Ukraine as Russian Influence Wanes
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Alaina - . December 30, 2024
- . Update: December 30, 2024 9:54 pm
New direction in Syria’s foreign policy was determined by the hope of its newly appointed foreign minister Asaad Hassan Al-Shibani for forging strategic political, economic and social cooperation with Ukraine. In his recent meeting with the Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha in Damascus, Al-Shibani compared the suffering of the Syrian and Ukrainian people – an extraordinary shift in Syrian policy as the country has had historically close relations with Russia.
The diplomatic gesture has been made at the time when Ukraine has committed to boosting humanitarian aid supplies to Syria: twenty shipments of flour will be delivered Kyiv’s “Grain from Ukraine” project. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the first shipment of 500 metric tons of flour was a clear indication of the growing relations between the two countries. This comes after Russia halted wheat exports to Syria due to non-payment of dues and the future of the new government is still unknown.
Ahmed Al-Sharaa, a new de facto ruler of Syria, who met Sybiha, has recognized strategic cooperation with Russia while seeking new alliances on the global level. The presence of Russian military bases in Syria, namely Hmeimim and Tartous, today is still a matter of discussion in Moscow with the new leadership of Damascus.
