During a briefing for Ukrainian and foreign media representatives, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Heorhii Tykhyi, responded to a journalist's question about Ukraine's official stance on the recent decision by Syria's new government to annul the agreement with Russia regarding the use of the Tartus seaport:
"We in Ukraine welcome the Syrian government's annulment of the investment agreement with Russia on the use of the Tartus port. We believe this step demonstrates patriotism and the determination of Syria's new leadership in restoring the national sovereignty of Syria over its transportation and economic infrastructure, returning it to the Syrian people, as it should be.
Moreover, this is not the only decision recently made by the Syrian leadership. We also welcome the decision to ban the import of Russian-origin goods. We consider it entirely fair and logical that the Russian Federation is gradually losing the ability to influence the future of the Syrian people, who, as you know, have suffered greatly from Russian atrocities over the past 10 years.
Ukraine reaffirms its readiness to continue extending a helping hand to the Syrian people, providing humanitarian support that they urgently need, and we are aware of this. The first shipments of support have already been delivered to Syria, and they will continue. We believe that we have all the opportunities to quickly and effectively replace, in particular, the products that were supplied by the Russian aggressor to the Assad regime. It should be emphasized that these products were directed to Assad, not necessarily to the Syrian people.
As you know, the Minister of Foreign Affairs held a meeting with his Syrian counterpart in Davos, during which the scaling-up of the 'Food from Ukraine' program was discussed. The Minister has been making particular efforts and engaging in conversations with foreign counterparts—if we list them, probably several dozen conversations have been about the 'Food from Ukraine' programme for Syrians. We want to scale up the aid we provide and, together with our partners, help the Syrian people, and this work will certainly continue."
