Zelenskyy imposes sanctions against pro-Putin Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday imposed sanctions on Russia's President Vladimir Putin's steadfast ally Syria's President Bashar-al-Assad and his Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad. Zelenskyy signed a decree on March 18, on approval from the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine dated March 18, 2023, announcing the restrictive measures on the Syrian regime. A proposal by the National Security and Defense Council was tabled to impose sanctions on 141 legal entities and 300 other individuals.

The sanctions will be effective for 10 years and include the freezing of assets, the blockade on trade and commerce with Ukraine, as well as suspension of economic and financial obligations, according to the decree published on Ukraine's Presidential website. 

Syrian President supports Russia's war in Ukraine

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad met with Russia's President Vladimir Putin on Thursday this week. He welcomed the Russian proposals to establish new military bases and boost troop deployment in the Middle Eastern country. Assad, a staunch ally of Putin said that he supports Russia's "permanent" military presence in Syria. The latter also offered Russian President Putin his support in the conflict in Ukraine.

According to the televised streaming of their meeting, Assad told Putin that he appreciated Russia fighting the "neo-Nazis and old Nazis” in Ukraine, according to a Russian translation of their dialogue. The Syrian leader also expressed opposition to the Western military support for Kyiv, saying that the West had taken in “old Nazis,” and was now giving them support with weapons and finance.

Assad clarified that his country's posture during the ongoing war in Europe's eastern flank is not just "out of loyalty" to Russia. He thanked the Russian military for the rescue operation and Putin's aid efforts in Syria after the 7.4-magnitude quake on February 6. The two allies discussed strengthening cooperation in the political, trade, and humanitarian spheres, “as well as prospects for an overall settlement of the situation in and around Syria”.

Syrian President Bashar Al Assad and Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks at the Kremlin in Moscow. Credit: AP

“We have this position not only because we have friendly relations and we're loyal to you, but because the world really needs stability,” Al Assad said in the Russian capital Moscow. 

In June, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Ukraine was severing diplomatic ties with Syria after Damascus recognized the independence of Russia annexed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics in Donbass region. The two republics fell from Ukraine's control in 2014 after a Western-backed coup ousted the democratically-elected president Viktor Yanukovych. The region became a hotbed leading to an eight-year conflict that also became the pretext for Russia's "special military operation" in Ukraine. 

In a statement published on its website, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry “strongly condemned” Syria’s recognition of annexed territories, labelling it an “unfriendly act against Ukraine” and calling Russia's annexation “an encroachment on its sovereignty and territorial integrity.” “In response to this unfriendly act, Ukraine declares the severance of diplomatic relations with Syria without the severance of consular relations,” the statement read. It was at the time that Ukraine had announced its plan of imposing a trade embargo on Syria and was also considering “other sanctions on Syrian legal entities and individuals.”