Syria Can Help Limit Russia's Influence Globally — Yuriy Matsarsky

In a recent interview with Radio NV, military personnel and journalist Yuriy Matsarsky expressed his views on the significance of Syria in Ukraine's struggle to reduce Russia's influence worldwide. He emphasized that Syria is an extremely important country for Ukraine, with substantial interests that extend beyond security to encompass economic considerations. Matsarsky highlighted that these interests are also tied to efforts aimed at curbing Russia's sway in the Middle East and other regions across the globe.

"Syria has been and remains a very important country where Ukraine has its own vast interests. These interests are related to security, economy, and attempts to diminish Russia's influence in the Middle East and generally in the southern parts of the Earth," Matsarsky stated during the Radio NV broadcast.

He further explained that Russia is trying to create the impression that it has client states or countries that are heavily dependent on it in the Middle East and Africa. "For instance, there is the African Corps of the Russian Ministry of Defense. This is reminiscent of Rommel's vibe. Indeed, they have such an official structure, which is made up of remnants of what was left from some African Wagner units and mercenaries. They operate in Mali and the Central African Republic," the military personnel and journalist recalled.

Matsarsky pointed out that the ability of these formations to engage in combat depends on the Russian presence, which still remains in Syria at the bases in Khmeimim and Tartus. "If Ukraine manages to negotiate with the Syrian authorities to halt or at least significantly restrict the operations of these two Russian bases, it will become much more difficult for the Russians to pretend that they are not in real international isolation," he remarked.

The military personnel and journalist also noted that if weapons, reinforcements, ammunition, and other resources do not flow through Syria to Africa or do so in significantly limited volumes, it could lead to a collapse or serious defeats for all these African corps or any Russian units that continue to operate.

On April 5, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made his first visit to the Syrian capital, Damascus. During his visit, he held talks with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, where they discussed the situation in the Middle East and Russia's war against Ukraine.

"We agreed to work together to provide more security and opportunities for development for our societies. We discussed the situation in the region and prospects for its improvement. We also talked about the circumstances of Russia's war against Ukraine, and I am grateful for the support. There is a significant interest in exchanging military and security experiences," President Zelensky wrote.

Zelensky also noted that he discussed with Ahmad al-Sharaa the possibility of supplying food to Syria and enhancing food security in the region overall. "An important day of negotiations in Damascus — today there was both a bilateral format with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa and talks involving our teams, as well as a trilateral conversation — Ukraine, Syria, Turkey. We are building new relationships, new opportunities, and expanding our work for security," the Ukrainian president later stated.

He reported that during the negotiations, they managed to discuss topics ranging from security and defense issues to the regional situation amid all the events surrounding Iran, as well as energy and infrastructure cooperation between the countries. "We will also continue working on food security. We talked in detail about how to overcome the consequences of the war and the negotiation process regarding Russia's war against our state and people," the Ukrainian president added.

Zelensky thanked all the Syrians who welcomed the Ukrainian delegation and reminded that Ukraine was among the first to support the new Syria after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime.