The first meeting between Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and the leader of the new Syrian administration, Ahmad al-Sharaa, took place in Damascus.
This was reported by the Syrian and Ukrainian sides.
According to Sybiha, he personally conveyed to Ahmad al-Sharaa a message from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the Syrian people — "we are with you and ready to help restore normal life, stability, and food security." On December 31, 500 tons of Ukrainian flour will be delivered to Syria as part of the Grain from Ukraine humanitarian program.
The meeting with the Ukrainian delegation was also attended by Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and the head of the Syrian Intelligence Service, Anas Khattab.
The head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry noted that under the influence of the Kremlin, the regime of fugitive ex-president Bashar Assad recognized Russiaʼs attempt to annex Crimea and the temporary occupation of parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which led Ukraine to break off diplomatic relations with Syria in 2022.
However, now Ukraine, as Sybiha said, is ready to restore diplomatic relations and political dialogue, based on the fact that the new Syria will respect international law, in particular the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine.
Kyiv is ready to share with Damascus its experience in collecting evidence, investigating, and working to bring war criminals to justice.
The overthrow of the al-Assad regime in Syria
On December 8, 2024, the Syrian opposition entered the Syrian capital, Damascus, and overthrew the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, who had been in power for 24 years. Al-Assad himself fled to Moscow.
Syrian rebels have already begun forming a transitional government — it will be headed by Muhammad Bashir, who headed the "Salvation Government" — a political structure created in 2017 in territories controlled by the Syrian opposition, primarily in the province of Idlib.
The head of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebel group and de facto leader of Syria, Ahmad al-Sharaa (better known as Muhammad al-Julani), has said that the country is exhausted by war and poses no threat to its neighbors or the West. He is calling for the lifting of international sanctions on Syria, as they were imposed against the regime of Bashar al-Assad, which has already fallen.
Ahmad al-Sharaa believes that it could take up to three years to create a new Syrian Constitution, and four years to organize elections.