Syria’s transitional government is moving to shift the printing of its national currency, the lira (pound), from Russia to Germany and the United Arab Emirates, Reuters reported on Friday, May 16, citing three informed sources.
According to the agency, the new Syrian government began exploring options earlier this year to print currency in Germany and the UAE, replacing Russia as the production hub.
Reuters noted that the momentum behind this shift accelerated after the European Union suspended some of its sanctions on Syria in February.
A severe shortage of banknotes has worsened Syria’s financial crisis, compounding the broader economic collapse brought on by years of war, the agency said.
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Reuters pointed out that the former regime had relied on Russia to print Syrian currency after EU sanctions led to the suspension of a contract with a European printing company that previously supplied Damascus.
The agency added that the transitional administration has received several shipments of banknotes from Russia in recent months, along with fuel and wheat, an indication, it said, that Moscow aims to preserve its two military bases along Syria’s Mediterranean coast.
This development has stirred discontent among EU countries attempting to curb Russian influence amid the ongoing war in Ukraine, according to Reuters.
In mid-February, Syria’s central bank announced that a shipment of Syrian banknotes printed in Moscow had arrived, as reported by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA). A source at the central bank told SANA that the delivery marked the first such shipment since the fall of the former regime.
SANA also stated that figures circulating in some media reports regarding the shipment’s value were inaccurate and exaggerated.
Meanwhile, the Voice of the Capital news website reported that the amount sent by Russia totaled 300 billion Syrian pounds, printed in Moscow. The outlet added that the ousted Syrian regime’s dependence on Russia for currency printing had contributed to rising inflation in recent years.
