MOSCOW: Chechnya’s Kremlin-backed leader Ramzan Kadyrov has said he is ready to step in if necessary and ensure that Syria gets the wheat it needs in what he said was the unlikely event that Russian wheat supplies to the country were disrupted.
Russian and Syrian sources told Reuters on Friday that Russian wheat supplies to Syria had been suspended due to uncertainty about the new government there after two vessels carrying Russian wheat for Syria failed to reach their destinations.
In a message posted on his Telegram channel on Sunday, Kadyrov said that the two rerouted vessels had been carrying “commercial” wheat and that Russian state-backed supplies to Syria had not been affected.
“Even if for some impossible and incredible reasons this does happen, I, as the head of the Chechen Republic, am ready to take responsibility and ensure the necessary amount of wheat for Syria,” Kadyrov wrote.
Russia, the world’s largest wheat exporter, supplies wheat to Syria through complex financial and logistical arrangements, circumventing Western sanctions imposed on both countries. It is not clear what share of wheat is supplied by the state.
Kadyrov did not specify how he would organize and finance wheat supplies to Syria if he had to step in and where the wheat would come from.
But he said he could act, if necessary, via a charitable fund named after his late father which helped to rebuild some mosques and provided humanitarian aid to Syria during ousted President Bashar Assad’s rule.
Russian analysts estimate Russia’s exports to Syria at 300,000 tons so far this season, with the country ranking 24th among buyers of Russian wheat. They estimate Syria’s total wheat imports at about 2 million tons.
Russia is the main supplier of wheat to Syria, and disruption in supplies could cause hunger in the country of over 23 million people. Sources told Reuters the two sides are in contact regarding supplies. (Reporting by Olga Popova and Gleb Bryanski Editing by Andrew Osborn)
Leader of Russia’s Chechnya says he is ready to ensure wheat supplies to Syria if necessary
https://arab.news/cq34h
Leader of Russia’s Chechnya says he is ready to ensure wheat supplies to Syria if necessary
- Russian wheat supplies to Syria had been suspended due to uncertainty about the new government there after two vessels carrying Russian wheat for Syria failed to reach their destinations
Spain highlights importance of Gaza reconstruction
- Spain officially recognized Palestine as a state in May 2024, in a coordinated move alongside Ireland and Norway
RAMALLAH: The Palestinian prime minister, Mohammed Mustafa, and the Spanish foreign minister, Jose Manuel Albares, on Friday discussed the latest developments in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
During their telephone conversation they emphasized the need to intensify international efforts to end the Israeli occupation and halt attacks and settler violence, and to secure the release of Palestinian funds held by Israeli authorities.
They affirmed the importance of ongoing efforts relating to plans for the reconstruction of Gaza, and Europe’s significant role in this process. Mustafa and Albares highlighted the need to unify Palestinian institutions in Gaza with those in the West Bank, with the aim of establishing a Palestinian state in line with international resolutions, including last year’s New York Declaration.
They also discussed coordination between their countries, and the strengthening of Spain’s political, diplomatic and financial support for Palestine, and Mustafa thanked Spain for its ongoing support.
Spain officially recognized Palestine as a state in May 2024, in a coordinated move alongside Ireland and Norway. Estephan Salameh, the Palestinian finance and planning minister, is set to visit Spain this month to discuss enhanced cooperation, particularly in the areas of development and reconstruction. Meanwhile, Israel continues operating in the occupied West Bank.
The Palestinian Prisoners media office said on Friday that Israel carried out numerous raids across the territory, including the major cities of Ramallah and Hebron, according to The Associated Press.
Nearly 50 people were detained, following the arrest of at least 50 other Palestinians on Thursday, most of those in the Ramallah area.
As 2026 begins, the shaky 12-week-old ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has largely ended large-scale Israeli bombardment of Gaza.
But Palestinians are still being killed by Israeli fire, especially along the so-called Yellow Line that delineates areas under Israeli control, and the humanitarian crisis is compounded by frequent winter rains and colder temperatures.
On Friday, American actor and film producer Angelina Jolie visited the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.
The only crossing between the territory and a country other than Israel, it remains closed despite Palestinian requests to reopen it to people and aid.
Jolie met with members of the Red Crescent on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing and then visited a hospital in the nearby city of Arish to speak with Palestinian patients on Friday, according to Egyptian officials.
Aid groups say not enough shelter materials are getting into Gaza during the truce.
