Syrian ship believed to be carrying wheat stolen from Russia in Ukraine docks in Lebanon

Smoke from a fire caused by the fermentation of remaining grain stocks rises from grain silos at the port of Beirut on July 29, 2022. They are unusable and this situation is one of the causes of the shortage of flour in the Lebanon.

AFP - JOSEPH EID

Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

A US-sanctioned Syrian ship docked in the port of Tripoli, North Lebanon, with barley and wheat on board which the Ukrainian Embassy in Beirut said was stolen by the Russia in Ukrainian warehouses.

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From our correspondent in Beirut,

Paul Khalifeh

The Laodicea is carrying 5,000 tons of barley and 5,000 tons of flour which are believed to have been taken from Ukrainian warehouses seized by Russian troops.

The Syrian ship docked Wednesday (July 27th) in the port of Tripoli, in northern Lebanon, according to maritime data site MarineTraffic.

The question of Lebanon's purchase of stolen Ukrainian goods was raised on Tuesday by the Ukrainian ambassador in Beirut with the President of the Republic Michel Aoun.

The diplomat said that this case could "

harm bilateral relations

" between the two countries.

The Ukrainian embassy said in a statement that the ship came from a Crimean port closed to international shipping.

Shortage of bread

Although embarrassed by the affair, the Lebanese authorities took no action to prevent the ship from docking.

The population would take a dim view of any move prohibiting the import of wheat and cereals, whatever their origin, at a time when the country is going through a serious shortage of bread: long queues have been forming for several days in front of the few bakeries that still supply the market.

The flour warehouses are almost empty and Lebanon has no storage capacity since the destruction of the silos in the port of Beirut during the explosion of August 4, 2020.

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To read also: Lebanon: the pound continues to fall, food security threatened

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