Syria, Crimea ports to cooperate in new agreement

Syria and Russian-controlled Crimea have agreed for cooperation between their ports, in efforts to increase trade ties and bilateral relations.

The agreement was made yesterday at a meeting between the Permanent Representative of Crimea, Georgy Muradov, and representatives of a Syrian delegation visiting Crimea. Muradov stated that cooperation is to be increased “at the level of economic entities. Our seaports have signed an agreement with the port of Latakia”.

Muradov added that “We are currently signing agreements at the level of ministries and departments … in the tourism sector, [and] a three-year work plan”.

The signing comes two and a half years after Crimea’s representatives in a Russian delegation visited the Syrian capital, Damascus, in August 2019, striking an agreement with Syria’s Ministry of Economy and Foreign Trade on issues regarding trade and economic cooperation between Russian and Syrian enterprises.

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The Crimean Peninsula was annexed by the Russian military from Ukraine in 2014 and has since been under the control of Moscow. Throughout the ongoing Syrian civil war, Russia has backed and militarily assisted the regime of Bashar Al-Assad, cementing an alliance between Moscow and Damascus.

By virtue of that relationship, Syria looks to be developing its relations with the Russian-occupied Crimea. The agreement to cooperate between each other’s ports gives the Assad regime yet another source in the Black Sea region from which it can attain supplies and conduct trade.

As the relationship between Syria and Russian-occupied Crimea increases, Ukraine last year banned Syrian and Russian airline companies from using its airspace for their flights to and from Crimea.