YALTA, April 18. /TASS/. Crimea has started to deliver basic necessities and foodstuffs to Syria, coming up to the amount of hundreds of thousands tonnes, Industrial Policy Minister of the Republic of Crimea Andrei Vasyuta told TASS on Thursday.
"The deliveries of goods from Crimea to Syria have begun. These are foodstuffs, basic necessities. <…> We are talking about the volumes coming up to hundreds of thousands tonnes according to the contracts that have already been signed. The deliveries are already being made," he said.
He added that when the situation in Syria improves, Crimea "can expand the range of goods".
Earlier on Thursday, Syrian Ambassador to Russia Riyad Haddad stated that the Arab state is ready to develop economic relations with Crimea, and the participation of the Syrian delegation in the Yalta forum reaffirms that, as it opens up the prospects for further cooperation. He noted that during the visit of Crimea’s head Sergey Aksyonov to Syria in October 2018, the sides signed a memorandum on cooperation in the sphere of trade and economy.
The fifth Yalta International Economic Forum, dubbed "World. Russia. Crimea. New World Reality," is taking place in the Crimean city of Yalta on April 17-20. TASS is the forum’s general information partner and official photohost agency.