India gifting 2,000 metric tonnes of rice to Syria: MEA
New Delhi, Feb 12: India is gifting 2,000 metric tonnes of rice to Syria following a request from the Arab republic, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday.
The first consignment of 1,000 metric tonnes of rice was handed over by Indian ambassador to Syria Hifzur Rahman to Syrian Minister of Local Administration Hussain Makhlouf at Latakia Port on Thursday, the MEA said in a statement.
The MEA said the remaining 1000 metric tonnes of rice is expected to reach Syria on February 18.
"In response to a request from the government of the Syrian Arab Republic for emergency humanitarian assistance, the government of India is gifting 2000 MT of rice to strengthen food security in Syria," the MEA said.
It said India has always stood in solidarity with the people of Syria, and its bilateral engagement has continued apace even during the years of internal conflict in that country.
India had earlier gifted 10 metric tonnes of medicines to Syria in July last year as part of COVID-19 assistance, the MEA said.
Govt. of India’s humanitarian assistance of 2000 MT rice as Gift for People & Govt of Syria arrives in Latakia. Amb Hifzur Rahman presents the gift to Syrian Minister of Local Admin, Head of Supreme Relief Com. Eng Makhlouf@DrSJaishankar @MEAIndia @SecySanjay @IndianDiplomacy pic.twitter.com/ivoUnjSXsN
— India in Damascus (@eoidamascus) February 11, 2021
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Trump says he ‘hasn’t even thought about’ continuing Iran ceasefire
Washington: US President Donald Trump has said he has not yet considered whether he would continue the ceasefire involving Iran, while also claiming the United States holds the advantage in negotiations.
Speaking to reporters, Trump said he was prepared to make a deal with “whoever is running the show” in Iran.
“They are fighting with each other, there’s tremendous infighting. They’re probably fighting for leadership in many cases. I think they’re fighting not to be leader because we knocked out two levels of leaders,” he said.
Trump added, “When they want they can call me. We have all the cards, we’ve won everything.”
Referring to ongoing negotiations, he said, “They gave us a paper that should’ve been better. And, interestingly, immediately when I cancelled it [envoy trip to Pakistan], within 10 minutes we got a new paper that was much better.”
“We talked about they will not have a nuclear weapon, very simple … They offered a lot, but not enough,” he added.
When asked whether he would continue the ceasefire, Trump replied, “I haven’t even thought about it.”
The remarks come as uncertainty remains over the future of the temporary truce and broader negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
