The first shipment of wheat has arrived in Syria since the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad in December. The ship that delivered the grain appears to be Russian, Agence France-Presse reported, quoted by BTA.
The new Syrian authorities announced on "Facebook" that a ship loaded with 6,600 tons of wheat docked in the port of Latakia yesterday. They did not specify which country sent the grain.
However, the Syrian authorities published a photo of the ship, which, according to a report by the specialized website "Marine Traffic" (Marine Traffic), which sails under the Russian flag and departed the port of Rostov-on-Don, southern Russia, earlier this month.
Before the outbreak of the civil war in 2011, Syria produced its own wheat, AFP recalls. But since the conflict began, harvests have dwindled and the country has become increasingly dependent on imports, particularly from Russia, a key ally of Assad, whom it eventually sheltered after his overthrow.