Syria’s De Facto Leader Meets Ukraine’s Foreign Minister To Restore Bilateral Relations, Boost Wheat Exports

On Monday, Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria’s de facto leader and head of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) hosted Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha in Damascus.

Ahmed al-Sharaa, who also is known by the name Abu Mohammad al-Julani, led the swift two week offensive that led to the fall and fleeing of President Bashar Al-Assad earlier this month, as they entered Damascus. 

The fallout of the Assad regime was swift, with global powers holding its breath. As factions both for and against Assad vied for power, the Israeli Air Force swiftly took out the former Syria Army stockpiles of chemical weapons, munitions, missiles, bases, aircraft and ships, as we previously reported. Other parties who in the past had fought HTS and coalition members — such as the Kurds — restrained themselves from attacking. 

Sybiha congratulated the new Syrian government on the victory of the revolution. “I am here to convey to the Syrian people a personal message from the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy: We are with you. We are ready to help the Syrian people, because Ukraine is interested in stable Syria and the development of mutually beneficial cooperation,” he emphasized.

The Foreign Minister stressed that this is the first visit of the official Ukrainian delegation to Syria in many years, which means readiness to open a new page in bilateral relations between the countries.

Ukraine, which is at war with Russia for nearly three years, has eyed the fall of the Assad regime as a small win. As it was the Ukrainian war that stalled Russian military manpower and stockpiles from intervening on behalf of the fallen dictator. 

Sybiha expressed his belief that the elimination of the Russian presence in Syria in the strategic perspective will contribute to the stability not only of the Syrian state, but also of the entire Middle East and Africa, which Russia has meddled in through the Wagner forces and other proxies — even if this process will take time.

“The Russian and Assad regimes supported each other, because their foundation is violence and torture,” Sybiha said. “We are ready to share our experience on collection of evidence, investigation and work to bring war criminals to justice for the crimes they committed.”

Wheat & Geopolitics

But at play is food. Ukraine has historically exported wheat to the middle east — but not Syria, which imported it from Russia (through complex financial and logistical arrangements). But after Assad fled, Russia suspended wheat exports to Syria over “Uncertainty concerns.” Ukraine sees this as an opportunity to win over the young government and take away Russian revenue (and profits).

During the visit, Sybiha said Ukraine would send more food aid shipments to Syria after the expected arrival of 20 shipments of flour on Tuesday. 

According to the Ukrainian foreign ministry, Syria will receive 500 tons of Ukrainian flour within the framework of the humanitarian program “Grain from Ukraine.” This amount of flour will be enough to meet the needs of more than 33 thousand Syrian families or 167 thousand people for a month. 

Going Forward

This is not the first western delegation to visit Syria, but it will have a impact, especially in the short term. 

On December 20, State Department officials visited Damascus for the first time since 2012, to meet with the leader of the opposition group HTS leader Ahmad al-Sharaa. U.S. officials later said the meeting with al-Sharaa was a “good thoroughgoing discussion.” 

Reportedly, after coming to some sort of commitment, Washington removed the $10 million bounty on al-Sharaa. 

Photos: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine

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