Ahmed al-Sharaa, the new leader of Syria, held talks on Monday with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga, according to Syria’s official news agency SANA.
This meeting comes weeks after the ousting of Bashar al-Assad, the former president of Syria, who had been a key ally of Russia.
Moscow’s support for Assad was instrumental in turning the tide of Syria’s civil war in his favor in 2015. His removal was considered a significant setback for Russia, which launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
SANA reported that the discussions between Sharaa and the Ukrainian delegation were held, but offered no further details. This meeting follows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s announcement on Friday of the first shipment of humanitarian aid from Ukraine to Syria: 500 tonnes of wheat flour. Despite the ongoing war, Ukraine remains one of the world’s top wheat producers.
On November 27, Sharaa’s Islamist group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), launched a successful offensive, capturing several key cities and ultimately taking the capital, Damascus, 11 days later. This forced Assad to flee to Russia.
In a Sunday interview with Al-Arabiya TV, Sharaa emphasized Syria’s strong strategic ties with Russia, highlighting that most of Syria’s military equipment is of Russian origin and many of its power plants are operated by Russian experts. “We do not want Russia to leave Syria in the way that some may desire,” he stated.
