On Wednesday, July 27th, the Ukrainian Embassy in Beirut informed Reuters that a Syrian ship carrying “stolen wheat and barley” docked in the port of Tripoli in Lebanon.
According to the Ukrainian Embassy, the ship was tracked using the shipping data website MarineTraffic. The embassy added that the food supplies were plundered by the Russian Army from Ukraine.
It further added that the ship, which is named Laodicia and sanctioned by the US since 2015, contained 5000 tons of barley and an equal amount of flour.
The Ukrainian ambassador to Lebanon, Ihor Ostash, met with Lebanese President Michel Aoun to discuss the issue. He informed President Aoun that any deal to buy the stolen goods would severely harm Lebanese-Ukrainian ties.
Should any deal be struck to purchase the food supplies, Lebanon will face the risk of being sanctioned by the United States, and therefore hamper any deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
