On Monday, December 30, during his visit to Syria, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andrii Sybiha held talks in Damascus with the leadership of the Syrian administration — its leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, Prime Minister Mohammed аl-Bashir, and Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaybani.

Andrii Sybiha congratulated the Syrian people on the victory of the Revolution, noting that this is a historic moment for Syria, which gives great hope for revival after many years of suffering.

“I am here to convey to the Syrian people 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 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.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister specified that Ukraine is ready to open a new page in bilateral relations. It’s about the possible creation of joint enterprises, the establishment of industrial and food products production, the exchange of technologies, interaction in the areas of cybersecurity and data protection. We want to see a bigger share of Syrian goods in our imports.

The Minister informed that on December 31, 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.

“This is the first delivery of free humanitarian aid. We are ready to deliver more,” emphasized the Foreign Minister.

The Minister expressed hope that Syria will become a state that respects international law, in particular the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, which will pave the way to restoring of bilateral relations, political dialogue between Kyiv and Damascus and reopening of Embassies.

“We are ready and waiting for the steps of the Syrian side. The restoration of the diplomatic presence will allow to increase trade, cooperation in the fields of science and technology, culture and education. Today I announced that we are ready to resume the studies of Syrian students in Ukraine,” he noted.

The Foreign Minister 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, even if this process will take time.

“The Russian and Assad regimes supported each other, because their foundation is violence and torture. 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,” he emphasized.