Syria’s de facto new chief Ahmed al-Sharaa and different officers have held talks with Ukraine’s international minister in some of the consequential visits because the fall of Bashar al-Assad on December 8.
Syria hopes for “strategic partnerships” with Ukraine, its newly appointed international minister, Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, informed his Ukrainian counterpart, Andrii Sybiha, in Damascus on Monday.
“Actually the Syrian folks and the Ukrainian folks have the identical expertise and the identical struggling that we endured over 14 years,” he added, drawing parallels between Syria’s 2011-2024 struggle and Russia’s seizure of Ukrainian territory in 2014 and culminating in its full-scale 2022 invasion.
Russia was a staunch ally of President al-Assad and has given him political asylum.
“We look ahead to mutual recognition of the sovereignty of the 2 international locations in order that we are able to full diplomatic illustration in Syria,” Sybiha stated at a information convention after his Ukrainian delegation met the Syrian leaders.
“We imagine Ukrainian-Syrian relations will witness nice growth,” he added.
The go to comes after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated on Friday that his nation had despatched its first batch of meals help, 500 tonnes of wheat flour, to Syria. Regardless of its struggle with Russia, Ukraine stays one of many world’s prime wheat producers.
“Ukraine will stay a linchpin to meals safety in Syria, even when our nation is engaged in a struggle,” Sybiha stated.
Russia had been offering wheat to Syria by means of intricate monetary and logistical mechanisms designed to bypass Western sanctions on each Moscow and Damascus. However in response to a report by the Reuters information company, these shipments have been halted resulting from uncertainty surrounding the brand new authorities in Damascus and delays in funds.
Ukraine, which has been battling invading Russian forces for almost three years, has stated it needs to revive relations with Syria.
“The Russian and Assad regimes supported one another as a result of they have been based mostly on violence and torture,” Sybiha stated, in response to a press release.
“We imagine that from a strategic viewpoint, the elimination of Russia’s presence in Syria will contribute to the soundness of not solely the Syrian state however the complete Center East and Africa.”
Regardless of Moscow’s backing for al-Assad, al-Sharaa on Sunday famous the “deep strategic pursuits between Russia and Syria” in an interview with the Al Arabiya TV channel.
“All Syria’s arms are of Russian origin, and plenty of energy crops are managed by Russian consultants. … We don’t need Russia to go away Syria in the best way that some want,” al-Sharaa added.
Opposition fighters led by al-Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched an offensive on November 27, which noticed them take quite a few key cities in fast succession earlier than seizing the capital, Damascus, 11 days later, sending al-Assad fleeing to Russia.
A fragile steadiness
The Ukrainian go to will likely be seen as a victory for al-Sharaa as he seeks worldwide recognition, Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbarra stated, reporting from Damascus.
“[It indicates] that the worldwide neighborhood goes to provide him legitimacy or a minimum of diplomatic recognition.”
For al-Sharaa, the precedence is to verify the brand new Syrian authorities are “not alienating any key gamers”, he added.
“They wish to have ties with the Russians, the Turks, the Qataris, the Emiratis. … The issue is that a few of these don’t see eye to eye,” Ahelbarra stated, noting that each the People and the Russians have army bases in Syria, “however the two disagree over many points.”
The ousting of al-Assad has thrown the way forward for Russia’s army bases in Syria into query. The Tartous naval base and Khmeimim airbase are Russia’s solely army outposts outdoors the previous Soviet Union and have been key to the Kremlin’s actions in Africa and the Center East.
“If Russia loses Syria and its ports in Tartous and Latakia, it could create big issues for Russian pursuits additionally in Africa,” political analyst Dmitry Bridzhe informed Al Jazeera, including that Russia is more likely to strike a cope with the USA over its bases as soon as president-elect Trump involves energy.
He stated Russia is more likely to see the Ukrainian go to as an “extension of the West’s technique to undermine Russian affect”.
Russian Overseas Minister Sergey Lavrov has stated the standing of Russia’s army bases can be the topic of negotiations with the brand new management in Damascus.
“What is evident is that the struggle for affect in Syria is on,” Al Jazeera’s Dorsa Jabbari stated, reporting from Moscow.