DAMASCUS /Syria/, July 24. /TASS/. Russia has delivered a batch of Sputnik Light vaccine and 1 million tests to diagnose coronavirus to Syria, an official with the Russian Defense Ministry told reporters.

"Today, at the Duwali airfield in Damascus, a ceremony was held to transfer 250,000 doses of the Russian Sputnik Light vector vaccine and 1 million tests for laboratory diagnostics of a new coronavirus infection to the Syrian side," the ministry said.

The consignment was delivered to Syria by IL-76 aircraft.

"On the way, all the mandatory requirements for the transportation and storage of vaccines and PCR tests using special thermal containers are fully observed," the ministry said.

Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev, head of the interdepartmental coordination headquarters of the Russian Federation for the return of refugees to Syria, head of the National Center for Defense Management of the Russian Federation, handed over certificates for the vaccine and PCR tests to Minister of Municipal Administration and Ecology of the Syrian Arab Republic, Hussein Makhlouf. "In the future, such deliveries will be organized on a regular basis," he said.

The ministry said that the delivery of the vaccine and PCR tests was carried out as part of a working trip of the Russian interdepartmental delegation to Syria, which takes place from July 24 to 29 in accordance with the decision of Russian President Vladimir Putin. As part of the trip, more than 160 tonnes of food, medicine, equipment and cargo were delivered to provide humanitarian assistance to the needy population. The delegation included more than 230 representatives from 30 federal executive agencies, five constituent entities of the Russian Federation and the Defense Ministry.