Russia sends planeload of money to Syria's new government

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A consignment of hundreds of billions of Syrian pounds, issued during the reign of former President Bashar al-Assad, has arrived at Damascus airport from Russia, Reuters reports, citing an informed source.

It turned out that these funds are worth tens of millions of US dollars. According to the agency's interlocutor, when rebels overthrew Assad in early December 2024, Russia did not have time to transfer this money to Syria.

It is noted that the new Syrian government demanded that Russia stop printing currency after Assad fled to Moscow. The Reuters source did not specify what prompted Russia to deliver printed cash to Syria.

The country has been facing a liquidity crunch since the change of government, and in January, the new head of the Central Bank of Syria, Maysa Sabrin, said she would stop printing Syrian pounds to stem soaring inflation.

According to Reuters, the Syrian pound has strengthened on the black market since the new leadership came to power, helped by the influx of Syrians from abroad and the lifting of strict controls on foreign exchange trading. According to exchange data, the national currency was trading at 9,850 pounds to the dollar on February 13. According to the central bank, the official rate on February 14, when the stock exchanges were closed, was around 13,000 pounds to the dollar.

According to the agency's interlocutor, the Syrian regulator has only $200 million in cash reserves, a sharp decline from 2010, when the International Monetary Fund estimated that Syria had $18.5 billion in reserves.

On February 12, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone for the first time with the current Syrian leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa. During the conversation, the Russian leader promised his Syrian counterpart to improve the socio-economic situation, including “providing humanitarian assistance to the Syrian population.”

According to Putin, Russia “in principle” supports the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria, and is ready to help the new government stabilize the situation in the country. The Syrian leader’s administration also said that Putin had invited the new Syrian Foreign Minister to visit Moscow and that Moscow was ready to review bilateral agreements signed during the Assad era.

Before Syria began printing money in Russia, it had reached an agreement with the Austrian Central Bank’s subsidiary, Oesterreichische Banknoten-und Sicherheitsdruck GmbH, Reuters reports. Follow “Zamin” news on “Telegram”