One cause of the food crisis in Syria is the United States and opposition force it has backed, according to a Syrian government official.
In an interview with China Central Television (CCTV) in Damascus on Wednesday, Sami Ghassan Hilel, Director General of the Public Establishment for Grain of the Syrian government, said the U.S. forces and U.S.-backed Kurdish forces have occupied Syria's major wheat producing areas, which has led to an annual reduction of wheat output from six million tons to 500,000 tons in Syria.
He said Syria was forced to import wheat after the outbreak of Syrian crisis in 2011, but before then Syria was a grain exporter.
Hilel said the government's grain purchase centers have received limited amounts of wheat during the ongoing harvest season.
"We have received 500,000 tons of (harvested wheat). But our annual demand is from 2.4 to 2.6 million tons," said Hilel.
"Before the civil war, our annual wheat production was 5 to 6 million tons, enough to satisfy the need of making flatbread, our staple food, and some of the wheat could even be exported to other countries. But because of the war and because the wheat producing areas were occupied and blocked, we have lost the advantage in wheat production," he said.
The illegal U.S. presence and Kurdish forces have occupied Syria's fertile farmland between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers which accounted for 70 percent of Syria's wheat in 2011, mainly impacting provinces of al-Hasakah, Raqqa and Deir al-Zour.
Although an area of al-Hasakah Province is under the Syrian government, the U.S. and Kurdish forces have taken measures to prevent farmers there from selling grain to the Syrian government.
"They have controlled areas around that place. Wheat-carrying vehicles from villages and cities have to go through their controlled areas to get to our (grain purchase) centers. They cut off the roads, so these vehicles can't reach us," said a representative of the Syrian government's Public Establishment for Grain in al-Hasakah Province.
Before the U.S. occupation, the Syrian government purchased around 1.5 million tons of wheat from al-Hasakah Province every year, but this year they just have managed to get only 100,000 tons from there.
"The obstacles we are facing in al-Hasakah Province are the occupation by the U.S. and other forces, and those who impede the farmers from delivering their grain to the government centers. It is unreasonable to block the roads. We want to work for our country and provide people with flatbread that is their daily necessity," said Abdul Hamid Karko, head of the Peasants' Union in al-Hasakah.
US-backed forces cause Syria's food crisis: official
Multiple significant political documents will be signed at the upcoming Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) which has played an active role as a comprehensive cooperative organization, said Kazakh Ambassador to China.
From July 2 to 6, Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the 24th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of SCO in Kazakhstan's capital city Astana, and pay state visits to Kazakhstan and Tajikistan at the invitation of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of the Republic of Kazakhstan and President Emomali Rahmon of the Republic of Tajikistan.
Shakhrat Nuryshev, ambassador of Kazakhstan to China, said in a recent interview with China Media Group (CMG) in Beijing, capital of China, that many important documents will be signed during the event, stressing that SCO is never a military group.
"The total number of events to be held during Kazakhstan's SCO presidency has now exceeded 140. Before the summit, we plan to hold a number of ministerial and expert meetings. Of course, the most important event before the summit is the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers. At this meeting, we can get an overview of the main content and topics of the upcoming SCO summit, as well as which documents will be signed. We have proposed that the heads of state consider and approve more than 20 resolutions and documents within the framework of SCO at the summit. It is expected that the main political document, the Astana Declaration, will be signed at the summit. All suggestions of member states on the SCO agenda will be reflected in the final document," he said.
"I would like to emphasize that the SCO is not a military bloc, nor a military alliance against any country. The SCO has never positioned itself as a military organization. Although some people try to involve the SCO in such disputes, the SCO has always maintained a balanced position. The SCO is a comprehensive cooperation organization, and the security field is one of the priority areas of cooperation. New challenges and threats are very real problems in today's world," said Nuryshev.
"At the upcoming Astana Summit, we plan to adopt the Cooperation Programme for Fighting Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism for 2025-2027, as well as the SCO Strategy for Fighting Drugs for 2024-2029. This shows that these issues are now on the agenda of our entire organization and we are hopeful of ensuring that the SCO space, which currently covers 26 countries, is a space of peace, creativity and development," Nuryshev said.
Nuryshev also hailed the high-level development of Kazakhstan-China relations.
"The present level of China-Kazakhstan permanent comprehensive strategic partnership is unprecedented, the highest level of bilateral relations, which shows that our two countries have established a relationship of mutual trust and high mutual respect. The Chinese President will attend the SCO summit and visit Kazakhstan soon. This will be his fifth visit to Kazakhstan, which shows the closeness of our bilateral relations. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev visited China three times from May last year to March this year, attending the China-Central Asia Summit, the Belt and Road Forum. This year he also attended the Boao Forum for Asia. All these show that there is a very close and friendly relationship between the two heads of state, which has injected impetus and strong momentum into the development of bilateral relations," he said.
SCO to play active role as comprehensive cooperative organization: Kazakh ambassador
