Azerbaijan sends 200 tons of food aid to Syria

Azerbaijan has sent a humanitarian aid convoy carrying 200 tons of food and grocery supplies to Syria, its Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

The convoy of 10 trucks carrying the aid departed from the capital Baku, and ministry officials participated in the handover ceremony.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ayhan Hajizade told reporters that the convoy will travel through Georgia and Türkiye before reaching the Syrian city of Idlib.

The aid will be distributed to those in need through Türkiye's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority, or AFAD.

Hajizade said Azerbaijan's Deputy Foreign Minister Yalchin Rafiyev met Asaad al-Shaibani, foreign minister of the interim Syrian administration, in Damascus on Sunday.

The two discussed reopening Azerbaijan's embassy in Damascus after a 12-year closure, Hajizade said.

“Azerbaijan is committed to supporting Syria's stabilization and reconstruction efforts. These efforts are being carried out in coordination with Türkiye. Our humanitarian aid to Syria will continue,” he added.

Hajizade said Shaibani was invited to Azerbaijan and he accepted the invitation. “We look forward to welcoming him in Baku,” he said.

Bashar al-Assad, Syria's leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia after anti-regime groups took control of Damascus on Dec. 8, ending the Baath Party's regime, which had been in power since 1963.

The takeover came after Hayat Tahrir al-Sham fighters captured key cities in a lightning offensive that lasted less than two weeks.