Russian authorities are exporting fish from the Crimea region to three countries, including Syria, adding to the Ukrainian goods that Russia has been trading from the areas it controlled during the 2014 operations and after the 2022 invasion.
The Russian TASS news agency reported yesterday, Sunday, September 22, that fish products caught off the coast of Crimea during the first half of 2024 were exported to three countries: Syria, Turkey, and Belarus.
During the first eight months of 2024, the volume of fishing off the Crimea coasts (Sea of Azov and Black Sea) reached 3,600 tons.
The Ministry of Agriculture in the Republic of Crimea (recognized by Russia) stated that fishing operations are continuing despite the restrictions imposed due to Russian military operations against Ukraine.
The Syrian regime government signed agreements with Crimea, including trade exchange through seaports, wheat imports, and the launch of air flights between the two countries at the beginning of 2022.
This was during a visit by a Syrian delegation to Crimea, where the two parties agreed to start trade exchange between the ports of Crimea and the Syrian port of Latakia.
Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula after Moscow-aligned forces took control of it, and then held a referendum in 2014, in which the residents voted to join Russia. This move was rejected by Europe and Ukraine (which Crimea was under its sovereignty).
The Syrian regime recognized Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2016, and the regime’s president, Bashar al-Assad, sent his children to the Artek pioneer camp in Crimea in 2018.
Crimea’s growing role under Russian guidance in Syria was highlighted after a visit by its president, Sergey Aksyonov, to Syria in October 2018. During this visit, several agreements were made, including the establishment of a Syrian Trade House in Crimea and a joint shipping company for maritime transport, in addition to facilitating financial and banking procedures between the two sides.
Wheat as a prominent commodity
Ukraine accused the Syrian regime government of importing looted wheat from its lands after the Russian attack on Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and Russia’s control over several Ukrainian regions.
Reuters news agency reported in December 2022 that Syria significantly increased wheat imports from the Ukrainian Crimean Peninsula, using a fleet of small ships under US sanctions.
The wheat sent to Syria increased 17-fold from February to December 2022 after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The shipped wheat quantity exceeded 500,000 tons, constituting nearly one-third of Syria’s total grain imports, according to Reuters at the time.