Last week, Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine is preparing to restore its ties with Syria after a Ukrainian delegation, led by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, visited Damascus.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has invited Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and other world leaders to support his ‘Food from Ukraine’ initiative, which is aimed at providing food aid to Syria.
The Ukrainian president extended the invitation to Sheikh Tamim on Wednesday in a phone call, where both leaders discussed the developments in Ukraine, Zelenskyy’s office said in a statement.
“Ukraine remains a guarantor of global food security and has already sent 500 tonnes of wheat flour to Syria.The Head of State invited Qatar to support the humanitarian initiative, Food from Ukraine, to help the Syrian people with food,” the statement said.
Zelenskyy had separate phone calls with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, and Switzerland’s President, Karin Keller-Sutter, on the same day and briefed them on the Ukrainian initiative.
He explained that the philanthropic campaign underscores “Ukraine’s readiness to supply food and agricultural technologies to Syria with financial support from partner countries”.
Ukraine’s humanitarian efforts for Syria come after the fall of the long-time Bashar Al-Assad regime on December 8.
Assad was backed by Ukraine’s rival, Russia, which granted him and his family asylum after he fled Syria as opposition fighters reached the capital, Damascus.
Ukraine had severed ties with Syria in 2022 when Assad’s government recognised the “independence” of territories occupied by Russia in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Last week, Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine is preparing to restore its ties with Syria after a Ukrainian delegation, led by Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, visited Damascus.
“This year, we may add more countries to our reliable partners, particularly Syria. We are preparing to renew our diplomatic relations with Syria and our cooperation within international organisations,” Zelenskyy said in a statement on January 2.
Qatar’s support for Ukraine
In the phone call with Sheikh Tamim, Zelenskyy also thanked Qatar for its participation at the first Peace Summit, held in Switzerland last June.
Zelenskyy had gathered world leaders to garner support for the Ukraine Peace Formula, a peace plan that he presented during 2022’s G-20 Summit in Indonesia, entailing 10 points to end the war on his country.
Last August, Zelenskyy said he was in talks with Qatar alongside India, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, and Türkiye over the second peace summit.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian president reiterated his appreciation for Qatar’s role in mediating the return of 53 children illegally taken from Ukraine by Russia.
Qatar announced the first such reunification on October 16, 2023, when it repatriated four Ukrainian children from Russia.
“Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani agreed to continue active cooperation on the return of Ukrainian children forcibly displaced by Russia,” the Ukrainian president’s office said.
