New administration faces ‘massive’ challenge of rebuilding
We’ve met people who have come back to this city. We’ve met people in Idlib, in Manbij and other parts [of the country], as well, who tell us that they have a lot of expectations from the incoming government. They like the words they’re hearing, but they have to be followed by actions.
Everybody here is cognizant of the fact that this regime that existed for 60 years, and a collapsing system – which is a void right now – will take time to fill.
This used to be the industrial hub for Syria. It was actually considered to be a richer city than Damascus itself. [People] say that now life, they expect, is going to come back to normal. They believe that this is an opportunity for Syrians to go back and rebuild.
The challenges this incoming government is going to face are massive: building basic infrastructure, returning life to the areas where no life had existed for more than a decade.
People here are celebrating, people here are with hope – but they’re also asking the people who are in charge, do not miss this opportunity to run Syria according to the aspirations of the Syrian people.
Russian wheat supplies to Syria suspended: Report
Russian wheat supplies to Syria have been suspended because of uncertainty about the new government and payment delays, Russian and Syrian sources told the Reuters news agency today.
Two vessels carrying Russian wheat for Syria did not reach their destinations.
Russia, the world’s largest wheat exporter, was a staunch supporter of Bashar al-Assad and supplied wheat to Syria through complex financial and logistical arrangements, circumventing Western sanctions imposed on both Syria and Russia.
A Russian source close to the government told Reuters that supplies to Syria have been suspended because exporters are concerned by uncertainty over who will manage wheat imports on the Syrian side following the change of power in Damascus.
“I think no one would dare supply wheat to Syria under the current circumstances,” the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation, told Reuters.
Shipping data shows one vessel, the Mikhail Nenashev, is anchored off the Syrian coast, while another, the Alpha Hermes, is heading towards the Egyptian port of Alexandria after remaining off the Syrian coast for several days.
Kyiv ready to supply food to Syria as Russia supplies suspended
KYIV: Ukraine, a global producer and exporter of grain and oilseeds, is ready to supply food to Syria following the fall of Bashar Assad, Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Vitaliy Koval told Reuters on Friday.
“Where it is difficult, we have to be there with our food. We are open to supplying our food and if Syria needs food — then we are there,” Koval told Reuters.
Ukraine’s exports were buffeted by Russia’s February 2022 invasion, which severely reduced shipments via the Black Sea. Ukraine has since broken a de facto sea blockade and revived exports from its southern ports of Odesa.
Kyiv traditionally exports wheat and corn to Middle Eastern countries, but not to Syria. Since the fall of Assad, a close Russian ally, Kyiv has voiced a desire to restore relations with Syria.
Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said Kyiv was ready “to pave the way for the restoration of relations in the future and reaffirm our support for the Syrian people.”
EU to deliver aid to Syria via Turkiye ‘air bridge’
The European Commission has announced the launch of an “air bridge” operation to deliver an initial 50 tonnes of health supplies to Syria via neighbouring Turkiye.
The items from EU stockpiles in Dubai will be flown to Adana, Turkiye for distribution in Syria “in the coming days,” a commission statement said.
A further 46 tonnes of relief supplies will be trucked from an EU stockpile in Denmark to Adana, for distribution in Syria by UNICEF and the World Health Organization.
The UN humanitarian agency says more than a million people, mostly women and children, have been newly displaced in Syria since the launch of the opposition offensive that deposed President al-Assad.
Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said she would “be further discussing the delivery of humanitarian aid” when she travels to Turkiye to meet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday.
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