80 tons of Russian aid arrives to Latakia

Syrian government officials and humanitarian workers in western Latakia province welcomed the arrival of two Russian planes carrying humanitarian aid on Saturday, regime media reported, one sign of increasing Russian involvement on the Syrian coast.

The 80 tons of food and medical supplies delivered on Saturday demonstrate the “sincere stance of the Russian people and its government alongside Syrians,” Ibrahim Khudur al-Salim, governor of Latakia province told SANA on Saturday.

Personnel from the Baath party’s Revolutionary Youth Union and Syrian Arab Red Crescent received the aid and unloaded the planes, in pictures published by SANA.

The shipment came two days after a Russian memorandum to Cyprus requested that regular flight paths be diverted while Russian forces hold military exercises off the Syrian coast in the coming week, pro-opposition AlSouria reported Saturday.

“Regime supporters have welcomed the heavy Russian presence in the coast lately more than they welcome the other [pro-regime] militias,” Salim al-Amar, a journalist and activist based in Latakia city told Syria Direct on Sunday, adding that regime supporters have lost confidence in Iranian militias responsible for securing northwest Syria in recent months. 

– Photo courtesy of SANA.