Russian relief aid arrives in Syrian capital

A new batch of Russian relief aid arrived in Syrian capital of Damascus on Sunday as part of Moscow' s ongoing humanitarian shipments to alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people, according to the state-run SANA news agency. The aid, including foodstuff and baby formula, was collected by the Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society, based in St. Petersburg in Russia, and arrived at the international airport of Damascus on Sunday, according to SANA. Since the beginning of the crisis in Syria, Russia has delivered several batches of humanitarian aid to the Syrian people, the last of which was 44 tons of aid landing at the international airport of Lattakia last December. The long-standing conflict in Syria has drained up the country' s resources, increased poverty and unemployment to a record level, displaced more than six millions of the country's 23 million inhabitants, and forced almost two million people to flee the country.