Rhino: Agencies – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that his country, a global producer and exporter of grains and oilseeds, has sent its first batch of food aid to Syria.

Zelensky added that 500 tons of wheat flour is already on its way to Syria, as part of the “Grain from Ukraine” humanitarian initiative in cooperation with the United Nations World Food Program (WFP).

“Wheat flour is to be distributed to 33,250 families or 167,000 people in the coming weeks,” Zelensky said on the X platform.

“Each package weighs 15 kilograms and can feed a family of five for a month.”

After the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a close ally of Russia, Ukraine has said it wants to restore relations with Damascus.

Kiev exports wheat and corn to countries in the Middle East, but Syria is not among them.

Under Assad, Damascus imported food from Moscow. But Russian and Syrian sources said earlier this month that Russian wheat supplies to Syria had been suspended due to the uncertainty.

Ukraine’s exports have been disrupted by the Russian invasion that began in February 2022, leading to a sharp decline in shipments across the Black Sea. But Kiev has since managed to break a de facto naval blockade and has resumed exports from the southern port of Odessa.