The leader of Russia’s Chechnya says he is ready to see the supply of wheat to Syria if necessary

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Chechnya’s Kremlin-backed leader Ramzan Kadyrov said he was ready to intervene if necessary and ensure Syria gets the wheat it needs in what he called an “unprecedented incident” of Russian wheat being diverted to the country.

Russian and Syrian sources told Reuters on Friday that Russian wheat shipments to Syria were suspended due to uncertainty about the new government there after two ships carrying Russian wheat to Syria failed to reach their destination.

In a message posted on his Telegram channel on Sunday, Kadyrov said that the two returned ships were carrying “commercial” wheat and that Russian state-sponsored supplies to Syria were not affected.

“Even if due to impossible and strange reasons this happens, I, as the head of the Chechen Republic, am ready to take responsibility and ensure the necessary amount of wheat for Syria,” Kadyrov wrote.

Russia, the world’s largest exporter of wheat, provides wheat to Syria through financial and strategic arrangements, bypassing Western sanctions imposed on the two countries. It is not clear what part of the wheat is provided by the government.

Kadyrov did not explain how he would plan and pay for wheat to Syria if he had to intervene and where the wheat would come from.

But he said he could do it, if necessary, through an aid fund named after his late father that helped rebuild some mosques and provide aid to Syria during the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad.

Russian analysts estimate Russia’s exports to Syria at 300,000 tons so far this season, the country ranks 24th among buyers of Russian wheat. They estimate that Syria’s imported wheat is about 2 million tons.

Russia is the main exporter of wheat to Syria, and a supply disruption could lead to famine in the country of more than 23 million people. Sources told Reuters the two sides are in talks about supplies.

(Reporting by Olga Popova and Gleb Bryanski; Editing by Andrew Osborn)