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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine prompts Syrian government to cut spending
The Arab News reported, citing the the Associated Press, SANA, the Syrian state news agency said that the government decided Thursday to cut spending in an effort to reduce the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, concerned that oil and wheat prices could sharply increase.
SANA reported that after an extraordinary Cabinet meeting, officials decided to manage reserves of main staples such as wheat, sugar, cooking oil and rice for the next two months, closely watch the distribution of the commodities and ration them.
Syria’s economic minister, Mohammed Samer Khalil, said Crimea offered to export wheat to Syria. He said the Syrian government is considering the offer. SANA said the government also decided to closely monitor the exchange rate and to “ration public spending in a way that only covers priorities during this period.”
Syria, struggling after more than a decade of war, relies mostly on wheat imports from Russia and oil shipments from its other ally, Iran. As Russia pounded Ukraine Thursday, Syrian authorities saw danger signs in rising oil prices on both sides of the Atlantic and wholesale prices jumped for heating oil, wheat and other commodities.
Russia’s war effort turned Syria’s government toward managing its own resources. SANA, the state news agency, said the issue was discussed during an extraordinary Cabinet meeting on Thursday about the path forward given the Russian invasion.
The decision came as oil prices on both sides of the Atlantic jumped toward or above $100 per barrel to their highest levels since 2014, up more than 6 percent.
The country’s largest oil wells are under the control of US-backed Kurdish-led fighter in the country’s east, depriving the government access to them. The country’s fertile agricultural areas, where wheat is planted, are also out of government control.
Syria humanitarian needs reach record high since crisis began
The Syrian government move came hours after the UN warned that 14.6 million people are in need of aid in war-torn Syria, an increase of 1.2 million people compared with last year. The report by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs was released late Wednesday.
Source: arabnews
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Amid growing anxiety among several European countries participating in NATO over Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte stated he looks forward to sitting down with Trump.
Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.
Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.
On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.
It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.
Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.
Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
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