How kremlin is losing the Syrian route for shadowy grain exports
russia may lose a strategic corridor for exporting stolen Ukrainian grain. This is indicated by a lawsuit filed by the russian grain trading company “pallada” in the moscow arbitration court for 5.6 billion rubles (over $70 million) against the Central Bank of Syria and the Syrian state grain trading corporation.
▫️ At first glance, this seems like a commercial conflict. However, in the context of the cooling relations between moscow and Damascus, it takes on a political dimension.
▫️ “pallada,” according to investigative reports, was involved in transporting grain from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. One of the key export routes was the Syrian route: through the ports of Tartus and Latakia. Now, this channel is likely to be lost.
A lawsuit against the state structures of the once “brotherly” Syria is an unprecedented move. This may indicate the collapse of the agreements that allowed russia to use Syrian infrastructure for illegal exports.
