April 5 (Reuters) – Ukraine and Syria pledged greater security cooperation in talks on Sunday, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said as Kyiv seeks to promote its military expertise across the region following the outbreak of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
Zelenskiy, continuing his tour of Middle East countries, met with his Syrian counterpart, Ahmed al-Sharaa, in Damascus.
“We agreed to work together to provide more security and opportunities for development for our societies,” Zelenskiy wrote on Telegram.
In a later post, Zelenskiy said there had been wide-ranging discussions with the Syrian leader and three-way talks that included Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
“We managed to discuss everything: from security and defence issues and the situation in the region due to all the events around Iran to energy and infrastructure cooperation between our countries,” Zelenskiy wrote.
In recent weeks, Zelenskiy has visited Middle East countries, offering Ukrainian expertise in countering drone and missile attacks developed during its four-year war with Russia.
Since the war began on February 28, Iran and its proxies have launched strikes on U.S. allies and bases in the region.
Syria is not known to have any air defences capable of dealing with Iranian drones or missiles.
FOOD SECURITY
Zelenskiy also said Ukraine, a major grain producer, wanted to contribute to Middle East food security and told the Syrian leader Kyiv was a reliable supplier. The two presidents discussed opportunities to strengthen regional food security, he said.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, writing on X, described the visit as a “milestone”. He said his talks with the Syrian and Turkish foreign ministers covered security and maritime trade among other topics.
In Turkey on Saturday, Zelenskiy said he had agreed to new security cooperation steps with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, and discussed joint gas infrastructure projects and gas field development.
It was the Ukrainian leader’s first trip to Syria since diplomatic relations were restored in September following the fall of Syria’s long-time leader Bashar al-Assad in late 2024.
Zelenskiy signed long-term military cooperation deals with Saudi Arabia and Qatar last weekend, and he said a similar agreement was close with the UAE.
Syria is home to two major Russian military bases. Sharaa has said Syria wants to turn them into army training centres.
(Reporting by Timour Azhari, Pavel Polityuk and Daniel Flynn and Darren Butler in Istanbul; Editing by Hugh Lawson, Ron Popeski, Mark Porter and Cynthia Osterman)
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