(Bloomberg) -- Ukraine’s president dispatched his top officials to Syria in a bid to restore ties after the collapse of the pro-Russian Assad regime.
A delegation led by Kyiv’s foreign policy and agriculture chiefs visited Damascus, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a post on social media platform X. The first batch of 500 tons of Ukrainian wheat flour is set to reach Syria on Tuesday, he said, with more shipments to follow.
Ukraine severed ties with Syria in 2022, following former President Bashar Al-Assad’s recognition of Moscow’s partial occupation of two eastern regions. Assad became a staunch Russian ally, with Syria hosting strategically important Russian military bases.
“We proceed from the fact that the new Syria will become a state which will respect international law, including Ukraine’s territorial integrity,” Kyiv’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Monday in an emailed statement.
Sybiha visited Damascus on Tuesday as part of a Ukrainian government delegation which met with the country’s de-facto leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa, interim Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Bashir and Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan Al-Shaybani.
Ukraine “is ready and is waiting for Syria’s steps,” in response to Kyiv’s announcement, Sybiha said. A restoration of diplomatic ties will allow for increased trade and technological cooperation, he added.
(Updates with Zelenskiy’s statements from first paragraph)
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