Russia delivers humanitarian aid to Syria

A Russian plane loaded with humanitarian aid arrived in Syria on Saturday, the Emergency Situations Ministry said. The Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft, which took off from Moscow in the morning with some 25 tons of medicines and other supplies on board, arrived at Damascus airport at 11:00 a.m. Moscow time (0700 GMT), said the ministry in a statement. Last month, Moscow sent some 38 tons of sugar, canned fish and meat, and baby food to the conflict-torn country in a delivery of regular humanitarian aid. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Moscow has provided 4.5 million U.S. dollars to the UN Food Program, 1.5 million dollars to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and 2 million Swiss francs (2.14 million dollars) to the International Red Cross for their humanitarian work in Syria. Russia has also delivered 80 tons of humanitarian aid to Damascus in the past few months, the ministry said.