Ukraine will set up a grain program for cooperation with the new Syrian authorities

Ukraine will set up a humanitarian program "Grain from Ukraine" to cooperate with the Syrian administration and "all partners who are ready to support".

This was reported by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky following the report of Ministers of Foreign Affairs Andriy Sybiha and Agrarian Policy and Food Vitaliy Koval on their visit to Syria.

"This year, we can add more countries to our reliable partners, including Syria. We are preparing to restore diplomatic relations with Syria and interaction in international organizations," the President of Ukraine said.

Ukraine will also increase trade with Lebanon, and will also cooperate more actively with African countries.

"Each such new partnership is greater opportunities for our diplomacy and greater opportunities for our economy," Zelensky said.

What preceded

Ukraine severed diplomatic relations with Syria without severing consular relations in June 2022 after Damascusʼs decision to recognize the so-called "independence" of the occupied territories in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

In early December 2024 , the regime of President Bashar al-Assad was overthrown in Syria. Power passed to rebel forces led by the Islamist organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. Assad and his family, who had ruled Syria as a dynasty for more than 50 years, fled to Russia.

After that, Ukraine resumed contacts with the new Syrian administration. Ukraine has already sent 500 tons of wheat flour to Syria. And on December 30, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha met with the new Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus. Now Ukraine is ready to resume diplomatic relations and political dialogue with Syria.

• “Grain from Ukraine” is a humanitarian food program launched on November 26, 2022, on the 90th anniversary of the Holodomor of 1932-1933. Its goal is to deliver grain to the poorest countries in Africa. The program has now been expanded to include Syria.
• The humanitarian situation in Syria remains dire, despite the fall of former President Bashar al-Assadʼs regime. According to the UN, more than 12 million Syrians lack adequate access to food. The World Food Programme notes that three million Syrians are facing acute hunger. The civil war has destroyed agricultural production, significantly reduced food imports and caused prices to rise.

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