Kiev, April 5, (dpa/GNA) – Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, held talks with
Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Syria on Sunday, reporting “strong interest
in exchanging military and security experience.”
In a post on X, Zelensky said the two leaders “agree to work together to bring greater
security and more opportunities for development to our societies.”
The visit to Damascus came one day after the Ukrainian leader, travelled to Istanbul for
discussions with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on “new steps in security cooperation.”
He also toured a number of Middle Eastern countries a week ago, offering the Gulf
monarchies technology to help ward off attacks by Iranian drones.
Ukraine has garnered considerable experience in dealing with drone and missile attacks by
Russia, since Moscow’s invasion in February 2022.
In Syria, where al-Sharaa has been in power since overthrowing longtime dictator Bashar
al-Assad in late 2024, Zelensky said the two leaders “touched on Ukraine’s role as a
reliable supplier of food products and discussed opportunities to strengthen food
security across the region.”
Kiev understands “very well the energy and infrastructure challenges Syria is currently
facing,” Zelensky added. “We are ready to work together to expand opportunities for both
our countries and their people.”
“Every nation and every region deserves a peaceful life,” the Ukrainian leader continued.
The Russian Foreign Ministry commented on Zelensky’s latest stop in Syria, questioning
whether the Ukrainian leader had nothing to do in his own country.
Zelensky has warned that the war in the Middle East is drawing away attention from
efforts to negotiate a peace in Ukraine, which has been resisting Russia’s full-scale
invasion for more than four years.
Al-Sharaa’s meeting with the Ukrainian leader came in the same week he visited Germany
for the first time, holding talks with Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin.
The discussions were overshadowed by a controversy over Merz’s statement that 80% of
Syrians in Germany should return home within three years.
Merz attributed the demand to al-Sharaa, who denied having put forward the 80% target.
GNA