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. “There is a great interest in exchanging military and security experience.”
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.
Zelenskiy also said Ukraine, a major grain producer, wants to contribute to food security in the Middle East and told the Syrian leader his country was a reliable supplier. The two presidents “discussed joint opportunities to strengthen food security across the region,” he said.
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said on X that Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met in Damascus with Zelenskiy and his counterparts from Syria, Asaad al-Shibani, and Ukraine, Andrii Sybiha.
Pictures of the meeting were posted without further details.
In Turkey on Saturday, Zelenskiy said he had agreed on “new steps” in security cooperation with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, and discussed opportunities in joint gas infrastructure projects and gas field development.
It was the Ukrainian leader’s first trip to Syria since diplomatic relations were re-established in September following the fall of Syria’s long-time strongman Bashar al-Assad in late 2024.
During Zelenskiy’s visits to Gulf states last weekend, Ukraine signed long-term military cooperation deals with Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and he said that a similar agreement was close to completion with the UAE.
Syria is home to two major Russian military bases, used by its navy and air force. Sharaa said on Tuesday at an event in Chatham House in London that work was under way to transform these into “centres to train the Syrian army.”
(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)
