New Syrian government cooperates with Ukraine

(CLO) The new Syrian government hopes to have a strategic partnership with Ukraine, the country's new Foreign Minister told his Ukrainian counterpart on Monday.

The move comes amid a weakening of Russian influence in Syria and the region. Russia was a supporter of ousted President Bashar al-Assad and granted him political asylum. Moscow said it was in contact with the new government in Damascus, including maintaining and protecting former Russian military facilities in Syria.

"There will be strategic partnerships between us and Ukraine in political, economic , social and scientific partnership," Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani told his Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha meets with Syrian government leaders in Damascus on December 30. Photo: X/Andrii Sybiha

"Certainly the Syrian people and the Ukrainian people have the same experience and suffering that we have endured," he added, comparing the brutal civil war in Syria from 2011-2024 with the Russia-Ukraine conflict from 2022.

Mr Sybiha, who also met Syria's new leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, in Damascus on Monday, said Ukraine would send more food aid shipments to Syria after 20 shipments of flour were due to arrive on Tuesday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he hoped providing aid to Syria would help restore stability in Ukraine. "We can help restore stability in Syria after years of Russian interference and this will certainly help us restore peace ourselves," Zelenskyy said in a video address late at night.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, left, and Consul General Tamer Altounsi, right, pose for a photo in front of the Ukrainian consulate in Damascus, Syria, on December 30, 2024. (Photo courtesy of AP, not for re-release)

Last Friday, Mr. Zelenskyy announced the sending of Ukraine's first shipment of food aid to Syria, including 500 tons of wheat flour as part of Kiev's "Grain from Ukraine" humanitarian initiative in cooperation with the United Nations World Food Program.

Ukraine, the world's leading producer and exporter of grains and oilseeds, traditionally exports wheat and corn to countries in the Middle East, but not to Syria, which has imported food from Russia during the Assad era.

The new leader of Al-Sharaa said this month that Syria's relationship with Russia should serve common interests. In an interview on Sunday, he said Syria still shared strategic interests with Russia.

Hoang Anh (according to Reuters, AJ, Kiev Independent)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/chinh-quyen-moi-cua-syria-bat-tay-voi-ukraine-huong-toi-moi-quan-he-chien-luoc-post328268.html