Russia

Amid rising food insecurity levels and wheat shortages, the Syrian government has recently contracted with Russian suppliers for the import of 1.4 million tonnes of soft wheat, which is used to produce bread. The wheat harvest across the country has improved this year but still falls short of the local demand.

A month after the U.N. and the Syrian government reached a bilateral agreement to replace the defunct U.N. Security Council mandated cross border mechanism, aid flow into northwest Syria has slowed to a trickle.

The Syrian government recently inaugurated a new gas well in Palmyra that will help narrow the gap between supply and demand. It is the second such gas well to start production in recent months. Meanwhile, the government has contracted an otherwise little known company to invest in various oil and gas fields in Palmyra and around Deir-ez-Zor.

The chronic underfunding of Syria’s humanitarian operation has taken a darker turn this summer with cuts affecting 2.5 million people in Syria, and dozens of thousands in Jordan and Iraq.

Protests against the Syrian regime, which are reminiscent of the 2011 uprising, shed light on the government’s continuous failure to fulfil decade-long demands.

Earlier this month, Iranian officials confirmed that they will soon launch several investments in Syria’s telecommunications, banking, and insurance sectors.